They opened a restaurant and bakery called "Andersen" in a building bought from Mitsui Bank in Hiroshima in October 1967.

The bank building, built in 1925, had been damaged by the atomic bomb blast during World War II.

In April 1970 they began to operate a frozen bread factory, and later that year opened another shop called "Aoyama-Andersen" in Aoyama, Tokyo The business eventually expanded to operate shops throughout the Kantō region.

The inspiration for making Danish pastries, and 'European style' bread, came from a study trip to Denmark in 1959, by founder Shunsuke Takaki.

[3] Seiichi Takaki, president of Andersen Institute of Bread & Life, has further strengthened ties with Denmark by donating 200 Japanese cherry trees to the municipality of Copenhagen.