Suntory

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Template:Nihongo (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan and one of the largest drinks companies in the world following its acquisition of Beam, Inc. in 2014.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Suntory produces a number of well-known alcohol and soft drinks brands including Jim Beam, Lucozade, Orangina, Maker's Mark, Ribena and a range of Japanese whiskies.<ref name=":1"/> The company is headquartered in Dojimahama 2-chome, Kita-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture and employs 40,000 people globally.<ref name=":1" />

History

(Left to right) Hakushu, Hibiki, Yamazaki; Japanese whiskies from Suntory
Orange juice soft drink from Suntory

Suntory was started by Template:Nihongo, who first opened his store Template:Nihongo in Osaka on February 1, 1899, to sell imported wines. In 1907, the store began selling a fortified wine called Akadama Port Wine (Akadama literally meaning "red ball," a euphemism for the sun). The store became the Kotobukiya company in 1921 to further expand its business and in 1923, Torii built Japan's first malt whisky distillery Yamazaki Distillery.

Due to shortages during World War II, Kotobukiya was forced to halt its development of new products, but in 1946 it re-released Torys Whisky, which sold well in post-war Japan. In 1961, Kotobukiya launched the "Drink Torys and Go to Hawaii" campaign. At the time, a trip abroad was considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In 1963, Kotobukiya changed its name to "Suntory", taken from the name of the whisky it produces, which itself was derived from the English "Sun" (referencing "akadama") + Tory, the anglicized version of Torii's name. In the same year, Musashino Beer Factory began its production of the Suntory Beer.Template:Citation needed

On April 1, 2009, Suntory became a stockholding company named Template:Nihongo and established Template:Nihongo, Template:Nihongo, Template:Nihongo, Template:Nihongo, Template:Nihongo, Template:Nihongo, and Template:Nihongo.<ref>Suntory News Release on January 19, 2009 (Global website), (Japan website) Template:Webarchive - Suntory Limited</ref>

On July 14, 2009, Kirin announced that it was negotiating with Suntory on a merger.<ref>キリン：サントリーと経営統合へ交渉 - 毎日jp(毎日新聞) Template:Webarchive Mainichi Shimbun (Retrieved on July 13, 2009)</ref> On February 8, 2010, it was announced that negotiations between the two were terminated.<ref>Termination of Merger Negotiation with Kirin Template:Webarchive Suntory News Release (Retrieved on February 8, 2010)</ref>

In 2009, Suntory acquired Orangina-Schweppes, the owner of the orange soft drink Orangina, for 300 billion yen, and Frucor energy drinks for 600 million euros.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On July 2, 2013, the company's beverage and food division debuted on the Tokyo stock exchange and raised almost US$4 billion in the process.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In September 2013, Suntory purchased the drinks division of GlaxoSmithKline. This included the brands Lucozade and Ribena, however, the deal did not include Horlicks.<ref name="Monaghan">Angela Monaghan "Ribena and Lucozade sold to Japanese drinks giant", The Guardian, September 9, 2013</ref>

In January 2014, Suntory announced an agreement to buy the largest U.S. bourbon producer, Beam Inc. (producers of Jim Beam) for US$16 billion.<ref>Suntory News Release on January 13, 2014 (Global website)</ref> This deal would make Suntory the world's third largest spirits maker.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The acquisition was completed in April 2014, when it was announced that the new subsidiary would be renamed Beam Suntory.<ref>Beam Suntory, Suntory press release, April 30, 2014.</ref><ref>Suntory Still has M&A Thirst, The Wall Street Journal, May 15, 2014.</ref>

In December 2016, Beam Suntory acquired the gin maker Sipsmith.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In November 2017, Suntory and PepsiCo form a joint venture in Thailand.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2018, Suntory sold most of Cerebos Pacific assets, including Australian and New Zealand food business to Kraft Heinz for A$290 million.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This transaction excludes Cerebos Pacific's health supplements and fresh coffee business which later integrated into Suntory Beverage & Food Asia Pte. Ltd. and Suntory Coffee Australia respectively.<ref name=":0" />

In March 2023, Makiko Ono became the first woman to be appointed CEO of Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In May 2024, Beam Suntory was re-branded as Suntory Global Spirits including the launch of a new website and visual identity.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In December 2024, it was announced that Nobuhiro Torii, great-grandson of founder Template:Nihongo, would be appointed as president of Suntory Holdings from March 2025, with incumbent president Takeshi Niinami appointed as its chairman.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In September 2025, Takeshi Niinami resigned as the company's chairman following an investigation into the purchase of possibly illegal supplements.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Subsidiaries

Suntory Malt's beer

Joint ventures

A Suntory Kakubin ("angled bottle") Whisky bottle and glass display at a Yamaya Liquor store in Iizaka, Japan

From the early 1990s, Suntory has collaborated extensively with Melbourne biotechnology firm Florigene to genetically engineer the world's first true blue rose, a symbol often associated with the impossible or unattainable. In 1991, the team won the intense global race to isolate the gene responsible for blue flowers, and has since developed a range of genetically modified flowers expressing colors in the blue spectrum, as well as a number of other breakthroughs extending the vase life of cut flowers.Template:Citation needed

In 2003, Suntory acquired a 98.5 per cent equity holding in Florigene. Prior to this, Florigene had been a subsidiary of global agrochemicals giant Nufarm since 1999. In July 2004, Suntory and Florigene scientists announced to the world the development of the first roses containing blue pigment, an important step toward the creation of a truly blue colored rose.

In July 2011, Suntory Beverage and Food Limited together with PT GarudaFood from Tudung Group in Indonesia have agreed to make a new firm to produce non-alcoholic drink with 51 percent and 49 percent shares respectively. It will produce Suntory Oolong Tea, Boss and Orangina.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In April 2019, Suntory partnered with Drinkripples, an Israeli-based company. As part of the collaboration Suntory will use Drinkripples' Ripple Maker machines to print branded and viral content on top of Suntory beer in Suntory certified locations and factories throughout Japan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Brands

Suntory beverage brands include:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Malt's beer served at Suntory's Kyoto brewery, Kyoto

Media and advertising

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Advertising poster of "AKADAMA Port Wine", the first nude advertising poster in Japan. Published in 1922 (Taisho 11). Directed by Toshiro Kataoka featuring Emiko Matsushima.Template:Cn
  • Suntory was one of the first East Asian companies to specifically employ American celebrities to market their product.Template:Citation needed One of the most notableTemplate:According to whom is Sammy Davis Jr., who appeared in a series of Suntory commercials in the early 1970s. In the late 1970s, Akira Kurosawa directed a series of commercials featuring American celebrities on the set of his film Kagemusha. One of these featured Francis Ford Coppola (an executive producer of the film), which later inspired his daughter Sofia Coppola in her writing of Lost in Translation, a film which focuses on an American actor (played by Bill Murray) filming a Suntory commercial in Tokyo for the Hibiki whisky.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Suntory operates two museums, the Suntory Museum of Art in Tokyo and the Suntory Museum Tempozan in Osaka, in addition to a number of cultural and social programs across Japan.
  • In the 1970s, Suntory engaged the US pop group the Carpenters to advertise its new line of soft drinks.
  • Suntory is a former sponsor of the professional match play golf tournament, played annually at Wentworth Club, near London.
  • In 2023 for Suntory's 100th year anniversary, and 20 years after the appearance of Lost in Translation, director Sofia Coppola was asked to direct the company's anniversary tribute video starring Keanu Reeves, with a mix that included scenes from her film along with footage of her father and Akira Kurosawa's Suntory Whiskey advertisement from the 1970s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

References

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