Japan links satellite cabbage forecasts to advertising and retail promotions
Dentsu, JAXA and JA Tsumagoi have begun testing promotions tied to forecasts for cabbage shipments and wholesale prices. The model will be deployed progressively at about 50 stores in the Tokyo metropolitan and Kansai regions, with Ajinomoto supporting related-product advertising and in-store activity.
Promotions follow expected cabbage supply
Dentsu, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Tsumagoi Village Agricultural Cooperative, known as JA Tsumagoi, have launched a market test that connects cabbage supply forecasts with advertising and in-store promotions. The initiative began on August 24, 2026, and will be introduced progressively at about 50 mass-market retail stores in the Tokyo metropolitan and Kansai regions, according to Dempa Times and AdverTimes.
The model uses satellite observations alongside field-survey and market data to forecast the harvest period, shipment volumes and wholesale-price movements for cabbage grown in Tsumagoi, Gunma Prefecture. When supply is expected to rise, participating retailers can expand cabbage displays, suggest meals, place complementary products nearby and coordinate related advertising. When volumes are forecast to decline, the timing, scale and message of campaigns can be adjusted.
Eight-week forecasts move into stores
The project started in 2022 as a concept-development effort between Dentsu and JAXA under the agency’s J-SPARC space innovation partnership. JA Tsumagoi joined in 2024, turning it into a three-party business demonstration. Tests using the 2025 Tsumagoi cabbage crop found that shipment volumes and wholesale prices forecast eight weeks in advance had a high correlation with actual results, Dempa Times reported. The source did not disclose numerical accuracy rates.
The partners are now testing whether those forecasts can influence demand outside the analytical environment. Tsumagoi is Japan’s largest cabbage-producing area during the summer-autumn season, according to AdverTimes, making its shipment pattern important to the broader domestic market. JA Tsumagoi chairman Munehisa Kuroiwa said some excess production is difficult to avoid because the cooperative must maintain a stable supply to consumers. Surpluses can depress prices and increase waste, while shortages can leave retailers without enough product to meet demand.
Ajinomoto joins the retail test
Dentsu is responsible for advertising design and promotion planning, while JAXA supports the technical use of satellite data and JA Tsumagoi supplies production and shipment information and coordinates with farms. Ajinomoto will run advertising and in-store promotions for related products in line with the forecasts. Ryomo Systems is developing a field-survey application, crop-growth dashboard and related systems. Dentsu Digital is developing and operating models for wholesale prices and arrivals, while RESTEC is handling satellite analysis and models covering crop growth, harvests and shipments. JA Zen-Noh Gunma is supporting sales coordination and retail execution.
Earlier trials exposed practical limits. Clouds can leave gaps in optical satellite data, and translating forecasts into store activity requires coordination across growers, wholesalers, manufacturers and retailers. The partners therefore plan to use synthetic aperture radar data from satellites including ALOS-4, which is less affected by weather or daylight. The market test will measure whether supply-linked advertising can stimulate cabbage consumption, reduce food loss and help stabilize producer supply-demand conditions and income. For retailers and food manufacturers, it also tests whether agricultural forecasts can improve the timing of merchandising and complementary-product campaigns.
