All rights are reserved under the copyright of Yasuyuki Ayukawa (2023)
I am visiting companies challenging the global market with Japanese skills, Japanese quality, and Japanese craftmanship based on the tradition. I don’t know if the world has overtaken Japan or if Japan has declined, but in recent years, it is said that Japan’s position in the world is declining in various parts such as economy, society, and the quality of life. But is it really so? Japan still has world-class technology, traditions, and culture, and the value of these has been recognized in other parts of the global market thanks to the efforts of many companies pioneering the market in many countries. Furthermore, there are also new companies taking on the challenge with products and technologies, with their confidence and pride, to the world. In this series, I would like to introduce how such companies are challenging the global market.
The 2nd. issue is for
Ide Sake Brewery
(https://www.kainokaiun.jp/en-index.html)
This second issue introduces the efforts of Ide Sake Brewery, Yamanashi, located on the northern foot of Mt. Fuji. Ide Sake Brewery has worked on Sake for more than 170 years, and moreover has much longer history as the residents of sounding Mt. Fuji. Ide Sake brewery questions its Sake in the global market, as one of the crystallizations of its long history and tradition. That’s how I received it. Not “selling more”, but “showing deeper”. Now let me Introduce Ide Brewery’s dissemination of the traditional Japanese culture to the global markets
In Vol.1, I introduced Ide Sake Brewery’s commitment to history and tradition, with the background of a long history. This time, I would like to take a closer look at how Ide Sake Brewery responds to overseas markets with such commitment.
Branding;
not “More”,
but “Deeper”
Ide Sake Brewery, who values its commitment to history and tradition, gets into global market, not to “sell more sake” but to “enjoy sake and tradition far more deeply”.
It is often said that sake is the typical “drink-in-meal” among beverage in the world, to be best enjoyed with meals. This is true, and Ide Sake Brewery is going to global market based on that point.
As Japanese food culture is exported, tasting sake is also exported as a culture. Therefore, in terms of obtaining sales opportunities in the global market, Ide Sake Brewery is naturally aiming at the demand in restaurants, especially those for Japanese cuisine.
On the other hand, it is first necessary to have the sakes of Ide Sake Brewery recognised, in order to be successful in taking such sales strategy in channels selection. For such purposes, What steps will Ide Sake Brewery take to do so?
This is also a challenge for Ide Sake Brewery to increase name recognition without chasing scale, i.e., sales expansion.
Even if the sales volume is limited, this point will be emphasised as a rarity value and the brand equity will be reinforced. It goes without saying that there are many precedents in such cases in the alcoholic beverage industry, including Japan. Among brewed ones similar to Japanese sake, for example, Romanée-Conti from Burgundy, France has a rarity value because the area of vineyard are limited and small, and the limited numbers of bottles go to the market each year. Rather, it strongly reinforce its brand equity.
However, in the field of vine, which is globally recognised as an alcoholic beverage in meal, the same approach does not necessarily apply to sake, which is a relatively new type of ones in global market.
Indeed, considerable “ingenuity” is required in order for Ide Sake Brewery to raise its profile in global market without greatly expanding its current scale, which serves consumption within Yamanashi prefecture.
“Crystal of tradition”
to global customers
visiting Mt. Fuji,
World Cultural Heritage.
Well, which kind of “ingenuity” does Ide Sake Brewery take?
Lake Kawaguchi, where Ide Sake Brewery is located, is also a great touristic resource and has value as a major tourist asset in terms of being at the foot of Mt. Fuji, a World Cultural Heritage Site. Ide Sake Brewery Brewery decided to make the most of this point.
In fact, there are currently a large number of tourists from overseas visiting Lake Kawaguchiko and Mt. Fuji. Most of the visitors to Kawaguchiko from Tokyo by train or bus are foreigners.
According to Takatoshi-san, the locals here use their cars, and among the people walking around town, the ratio of foreigners is very high.
In particular, overseas visitors to this area at the foot of Mt. Fuji recognise the cultural value of Mt. Fuji and should be attracted to it. Ide Sake Brewery attempt to invite, attract these people to visit the Brewery, taste and learn about Sakes as one of the “crystal of tradition” of Japanese culture.
Visitors will take such experiences, including souvenirs, back to their home country and reproduce them in their own community network, such as Japanese restaurants and salons, and will dispatch such a lump of experiences.
Then, when others who has received such a lump of experiences visits Japan, and will come to Ide Sake Brewery to taste Sakes, transforming such others’ experiences by their own experience.
Ide Sake Brewery could improve the level of recognition of onesef, through such a chain reaction on an individual basis triggered by inbound, and by repeating this kind of reaction, the recognition could be again improving gradually..
In fact, Ide Sake Brewery places great importance on sake brewery tours so that inbound visitors can experience sakes and take it home as a good memory leading to such chain reactions.
The regular tour includes an explanation of the brewery, a tour of the brewing site, and a tasting of sake and whiskey. and especially The Premium Tour could offer the perfect experience to you to deeply enjoy Sakes at the centre of the Japanese culture.
In the 200-year-old Jinya-zukuri Yashiki (old house with the style of Japanese premium camp inn), visitors can enjoy recommended Japanese Sakes and Japanese cuisine with good marriage, while looking at the Japanese dry landscape garden from the tatami room with the folding screen with the paintings of the story of hunting on the foot of Mt. Fuji, held by Minamoto no Yoritomo, in 12th. century.
During the sake brewery tour, visitors can also touch the Sakes of Ide Sake Brewery in Japanese tradition and culture such as the Japanese dry landscape garden and the house that has been used for an old family. Then visitors could bring such cultural experience to their own home.
An experience where visitors can enjoy sake as a “Crystal of Tradition” of the Japanese culture, along with best matching Japanese food to them, in the essential parts of the best of Japanese culture.
It should leave a strong impression on minds of the inbound visitors from overseas.
The number of overseas customers who visit Ide Sake Brewery Brewery reaches 20,000 annually, mainly from Western countries such as the United States, France, and Germany. It means at least 40 people visit Ide Sake Brewery a day in average; and at most over 100 people.
Although it’s on an individual basis, there are still 20,000 people a year, so you can expect a certain level of power.
The next issue would be final;
Introducion of Ide Sake Brewery’s items
for the global market,
and Ide Sake Brewery’s
particularity
about sake brewing
All rights are reserved under the copyright of Yasuyuki Ayukawa (2023)