Happy New Year and welcome to issue #103 of SIN!
We hope all our readers are toasting the New Year with a glass of your favorite sake.
This year, 2024, is the Chinese year of the Dragon, so expect all of those sake brands out there with tatsu or ryū (two different readings of the characters 龍 and 竜 used for "dragon") in their name to be hitting the market hard to make the most of their "year".
Last year was a great year for getting things back on track post-COVID and it's looking like things are only going to improve this year as the sake world continues to find its feet in the modern age, reaching new markets and exploring modern methods for engaging its audience.
From all of us at SIN we would like to wish our readers the best for a safe and prosperous 2024.
And now for the news…
Japan's First Aged Sake Facility
Japan- Pasona Group announced that it has established a joint venture with 10 sake breweries across Japan, including Okada Honke and Honda Shōten (both of Hyogo Prefecture), and obtained licensing to establish Nihon no Koshuzo Co. - Japan's first dedicated aged sake storage facility.
The project will work concurrently with the company's Inishie no Bishu Koshukura Project, (Beautiful Aged Sake). The project aims to solve the handling and storage issues facing sake breweries across Japan when it comes to long term maturation of sake, while promoting the culture of aged sake to the world through new product development, and growth of sales channels.
The project is currently receiving large tanks of “old” sake from 43 sake breweries and approximately 60 brands from across Japan, and will provide a comprehensive service that will encompass storage, bottling, and shipping. The company will also develop new products and sell sake on a duty-free basis through the sake warehouse.
As tax laws have changed and "fresh" sake has become the norm, the culture and traditions of aged sake have declined rapidly. Since 2020, Pasona Group has been working to expand sales channels for aged sake by developing its premium brand of aged sake, Inishie no Bishu, through its subsidiary, Takumi Sōsei in an effort to carry on the culture of aged sake.
Source - Project Design JP
JG: This is a very ambitious project and I hope that they do in fact succeed as it will provide breweries with options for moving unsold sake, but also develop new markets for sake. I do, however, think that they have their work cutout for them since the appreciation of long aged sake has never really taken off. Furthermore, I am not sure there is enough out there to support market growth, and I am not sure they can source enough when they need it. It takes time to make aged sake, and will the market wait? Hopefully they have considered all this. Best of luck to all involved.
岡田本家 (盛典) , 本田商店（龍力）, 古昔の美酒 , 日本の古酒蔵
The Challenges Of M&A
Yamanashi- Tanizakura Shuzō was established in 1848, operating successfully as a producer of sake for the local regions for over 150 years. However as fourth-generation kuramoto, Mistuhiko Komiyama reached the age of 70, he faced an all-too-common problem of finding a successor for the business. Through potential M&A meetings, Komiyama eventually came across the online sales platform, Belluna - a company already involved in sake distribution. Despite having initial reservations, Komiyama came to appreciate the business approach of Belluna after several meetings and agreed to sell the brewery in June 2023.
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