Tsukinoi Brewery

March 24th, 2022

 

Future Expansion

 

Tsunokake：Tell us about the perspective of your future sake brewing.

Sakamoto：As you may know, domestic sake consumption has been declining because of the diversification of consumer needs and the increasing choices of liquors supported by the inexpensive imported wines and the widespread local beers and spirits. In this situation, our target is to manufacture healthy liquors such as organic sake and make the ultimate local sake using local Oarai rice, local water, and koji malt and lactic acid unique to our brewery in the same concept of terroir valued in European wineries. In that way, we would become the world's only sake brewery with a unique character.

Tsunokake：I agree it would be essential to have a uniqueness in this time of age. Would you share with us some of your plans for your company's future advancement?

Sakamoto：We are challenged to create new products by utilizing our brewing techniques and tangible and intangible assets. For example, we have already commercialized Sakekasu dressing sauce and Sakekasu ice cream from Sakekasu, or distilled grains we get in the process of squeezing fermenting mash. Others include organic rice powder Baumkuchen, which we recently developed using rice powder from polishing organic sake rice and started selling in collaboration with a local Ibaraki major confectioner. We also created organic hand cream and lotion using the extract of the distilled grains from Nanotsuki, which is made from organic and JAS-certified sake rice. For developing this organic lotion, we utilized the New Product and New Technology Development Project Grant, one of the Ibaraki Challenge Funds.

Tsunokake：You are working in the field where you can expect the synergy with sake brewing.

Sakamoto：That's right. It is usually not easy for a small brewery to develop new products because of the money needed. A small business wouldn't risk failing to produce a new product and losing all the money they have invested. We appreciate the public fund system, which supports our positive challenges.

Tsunokake：To conclude our conversation, do you have any requests for the Ibaraki Small Business Global Promotion Agency?

Sakamoto：Yes, I have one request. We would appreciate highly if you could dispatch an interpreter during a business discussion with foreign buyers. In the case of overseas deals, we have the occasions of business negotiations with foreign buyers not only in their countries but also in Japan, and we always find language differences difficult. Of course, we are learning their languages as an essential communication tool, but in the actual business negotiations, mistakes and misunderstandings are inevitable in detailed discussions. It is also difficult for us to hire full-time bilingual interpreters familiar with the overseas business negotiations. I think it is imperative to have good communication with a professional interpreter to win a successful contract and keep a smooth deal afterward. So, my request is a support system for the interpreters.

Tsunokake：I agree. It wouldn't be too much to say that the key to the success of business negotiation is good communication.

Sakamoto：I would like to mention that you also support us. We get a management accounting tutorial from an expert using the Expert Dispatch Project (Small Business Expert Dispatch Project) offered by Ibaraki Small Business Global Promotion Agency. Indeed, we are heavily supported by your agency. We are determined to return the favor by working hard day and night. Thank you for your continued support.

Tsukinoi Brewery Ltd. ●Inauguration 　　May 1952 ●Capital 　　　　24 million yen ●CEO　　　　 　Keiko Sakamoto ●Employees 　　19 people ●Year Quotient 150 million yen ●Location 　　　638 Isohamacho, Oarai, Higashi Ibaraki District, Ibaraki, 311-1301 Japan ●Business Content Japanese sake and its derivative products ●Export Ratio 　9 % of total sales (approximately 12 million yen) in 2018 　Tsukinoi Brewery Website

 

 

 

 

  

Interviewer Ibaraki Small Business Global Promotion Agency, Incorporated Foundation Overseas Extension Promotion Agent ●Name 　Yasuhiro Tsunokake ●Major Field 　Food (Livestock, Organic) ●Career Many years of engagement in marketing and trading businesses in a significant general trading company. We have US residency experiences and a local corporate inauguration in China.

 

 

 

 

 

Tsunokake：While organic food is widely accepted in the US and Europe, the organic market in Japan is still on its way. Despite this background, Tsukinoi Brewery has been making organic sake for more than ten years because of the unwavering belief of CEO Sakamoto.
And this belief is taken over by the 8th Owner of the Brewery, Naohiko Sakamoto, senior managing director, and the CEO's son. We expect the company's growth in the coming years in the fields, including the overseas sales and the expansion of new products such as cosmetics.
Overseas export deals require hard work, as CEO Sakamoto has experienced, and it won't prove good results with a sloppy feeling that things would somehow turn out well. But it is also true that a successful contract should come closer to reality by earnestly collecting the information and utilizing the public overseas extension projects offered by government agencies.
 

 

 

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