Tomoiku functionality, the second phase, reduces the burden of recording baby food and promotes "tomoiku" (co-education).
- The following is content from the press release -
(Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Tatsuya Sato; hereafter referred to as "Karada Note"), which supports healthy lifestyles both physically and mentally as a companion for all people facing family life, has released an AI function in its baby food recording application "Step Baby Food" for both iOS and Android operating systems (iOS and Android). The new function allows users to automatically record food ingredients by simply reading food labels with a smartphone camera. This function reduces the burden of recording baby food while raising children and provides a system that allows busy families to manage nutrition by "just taking pictures".
Tomoiku (hereafter referred to as "Tomoiku"), an initiative promoted by our company, aims to create a society in which families, companies, and communities support each other in raising children. This second Tomoiku function, which utilizes AI to enable anyone to easily record baby food, is an initiative that advances "Raising Children Together = Tomoiku".
Background: Reducing the "burden of recording baby food" for busy childcare
The "Step Weaning Food" application, which was created based on the voices of mothers who were worried about how to proceed with baby food, has been used by more than 2.8 million people* to date, and is used by many families to support "first-time baby food weaning.
In today's world of dual-income families, there are many cases where there is no one close at hand to consult on child-rearing issues. In this situation, "Step Weaning Food" has provided easy-to-understand information such as "what to feed at what time" and "how to feed" to support daily food and nutrition management for weaning.
However, in modern child-rearing, keeping track of child-rearing and baby food is a heavy burden for many families. According to a survey* conducted by our company, approximately 50% of users use baby food on a daily basis, and while baby food is a strong ally for families raising children, some said that when recording baby food, "the large number of ingredients that can be consumed at once makes it difficult to input the information" and "I forget to record the information after feeding the baby food while I am away from home. Dads also said, "It is difficult to record baby food due to my lack of knowledge about baby food." Compared to other child-rearing activities, baby food tends to present a higher hurdle for dads' participation in child-rearing.
In response to such user feedback, we have developed a new function that reduces the burden of recording and encourages fathers to participate in childcare by automating the recording of baby food, which was particularly burdensome, using AI.
*As of July 2025
*"Questionnaire on Baby Food," April 10 to April 25, 2025 / N=200
New feature overview: on the spot or later! Baby food recording takes about 5 seconds
Just tap the camera icon on the app and take a picture of the baby food package, and the ingredients will be automatically recorded. After the pre-release of this feature, we received many requests from users to make it possible to read from saved photos as well, so we have made additional improvements so that the app can automatically identify and record from photos in the camera roll, making it even easier to record baby food on the spot or afterwards. This allows you to more easily record baby food on the spot or at a later time.
Main features of this function
- AI automatically records ingredients by simply reading food labels with a camera
- Average reading time is about 5 to 6 seconds for smooth completion
- Can also be read from photos in the camera roll and recorded together later.
- Recorded information can be shared with the whole family, supporting nutrition education together.
User feedback received after release
- The step-by-step baby food update is amazing! I was impressed with the automatic input of ingredients just by taking a picture of the baby food package.
- God update that baby food ingredients are automatically recorded in the app!
- So that Dad can be "in charge of scanning only"!
*Some information has been edited from SNS posts and user interviews related to this feature.
Step Weaning Food" application to support weaning process and food records
This is a free application to support how to proceed and record baby food. It provides information such as a schedule of baby food according to the baby's age, allergy information for each ingredient, cooking tips, etc., so that even first-time weaners can proceed with baby food with ease.
Main Functions and Services
List of ingredients supervised by a nutritionist
- Know what foods to eat at each weaning period.
- 270 ingredients can be quickly found with the search function.
- Understand how to prepare, cook, and feed each ingredient
Keep track of the food you eat
- Easy to keep track of what you eat, just check it when you eat it.
- Record of likes, dislikes, and allergies
- Ideal for preparing for nursery school entry
Weaning schedule with just copying (supervised by a registered dietitian)
- Support for increasing food and quantity and advancing protein
- Recipes for baby food by age, just copying
Family Sharing Function
- Support nutrition education together by sharing the progress of baby food and food allergies.
Application Overview
Name : Step Baby Food
Provider : Karada Note Co.
Distribution Format ： Application for smartphones (iOS/Android devices)
Fee : Free of charge
Download:https://karadanote-step.onelink.me/K3DN/aol0uc76
Toward the realization of a "Tomoiku (co-education)" and a wellbeing society promoted by Karada Note
Based on the vision of "supporting family health and increasing smiles," Karada Note is developing businesses that support family wellbeing, starting with life events.
As the birthrate declines and the number of people working together increases, we are promoting the creation of a system in which families support each other and society as a whole fosters a rich child-rearing environment. Representative Director Sato is also involved in public-private sector child-rearing support as a member of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's "Tomoiku Project" promotion committee.
This second Tomoiku function is expected to lower the hurdle for fathers to participate in child-rearing through an AI function that allows recording of weaning by simply taking a picture. In addition to reducing the burden on both mothers and fathers, this feature will promote communication within the family by allowing family members to raise children together and embody the "co-education = tomoiku" concept of sharing in child-rearing.
Going forward, the Company will continue to make use of family life event data as it seeks to realize tomoiku.
About Us
We operate our business in two main areas: for families and for society. In the area for families, we provide services to enhance quality of life (QOL) by utilizing life event data, starting with child-rearing and healthcare applications that focus on recording and sharing. In the area for society, we provide business development and consulting services to major companies that contribute to solving social issues such as the declining birthrate, based on user data and our knowledge.
Company Name : Karada Note Corporation (TSE Growth: 4014)
Head Office : 6F MA Shibaura Building, 3-8-10 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Rep : SATO Tatsuya
Business: Family support business
Life Event Marketing Business
Family Partnership Program
URL :https://corp.karadanote.jp/
