is a soft drink company founded in 1982 and headquartered in the Azuma-bashi district of
Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It is a subsidiary of
Asahi Breweries
is a Japanese global beer, spirits, soft drinks and food business group headquartered in Sumida, Tokyo.
In 2019, the group had revenue of JPY 2.1 trillion. Asahi's business portfolio can be segmented as follows: alcoholic beverage business (4 ...
.
The company sponsors the Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers, an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
team in the Japanese
X-League, as well as a
futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football.
Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...
team.
History
In 1884, (later called "Mitsuya Cider") began being sold. After becoming an Imperially licensed beverage company in 1909, Mitsuya Champagne Cider began being sold. In November 1951, Asahi Bakushu (now Asahi Beer) acquired the rights to manufacture and distribute
Bireley's
Bireley's is a brand of non-carbonated, fruit-flavored soft drinks originally produced by the Frank W. Bireley Company (later Bireley's Inc.), established in California in 1923 by Frank W. Bireley. The brand grew rapidly, becoming known througho ...
Orange and Wilkinson Ginger Ale from
General Foods
General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the United States by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895.
The company changed its name to "General Foods" in 1929, after several corporate ...
and
Ellis Wilkinson Ltd., respectively; both drinks are still sold in Japan despite being discontinued in their original countries. By April 1953, Mitsuya Cider was manufactured using only sugar for sweetener.
Bireley's began being sold in cans in March 1959. In March 1972, Mitsuya Vending Corporation was established, and Asahi Bakushu entered the beverage
vending machine
A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The fir ...
business. Mitsuya Coffee, sold in cans, was introduced in October 1981. Mitsuya Foods Corporation was established in March 1982, and the Mitsuya Vending Corporation was merged into this new company. This is considered the beginning of Asahi Soft Drinks.
The canned Mitsuya Coffee product name was changed to "NOVA" in September 1986, and
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...
began doing commercials for the coffee.
Mitsuya Foods officially changed its corporate name to "Asahi Beer Soft Drinks" in April 1987,
and in November 1988, Asahi Beer Soft Drinks Manufacturing was established. The following two years, two manufacturing plants were opened: one in
Kashiwa
is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 433,436 in 194,216 households and a population density of 3800 persons per km². The total area of the city is .
The name of the city is written with a si ...
,
Chiba Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama Prefecture to the ...
in January 1989, and one in
Akashi Akashi may refer to:
People
*Akashi (surname)
Places
*Akashi, Hyōgo
*Akashi Station, a Japanese railroad station on the Sanyō Main Line
*Akashi Strait
*Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, crossing the former
*Akashi Castle
*Akashi Domain
* Akashi, the name ...
,
Hyōgo Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...
in January 1990. In February 1990, the canned coffee brand "NOVA" was changed to "J.O.", and
Hank Aaron
Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...
began doing commercials. In September that same year, Asahi Beer Soft Drinks consolidated its western Japan,
Tōkai
Tōkai ( 東海, literally ''East Sea'') in Japanese may refer to:
* Tōkai region, a subregion of Chūbu
* Tōkai, Ibaraki, a village, also known as "Tokaimura" (Tokai-village)
* Tōkai, Aichi, a city
* Tōkai University, a private university in T ...
, and
Kyūshū
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...
subsidiaries into one company called Asahi Beer Soft Drinks.
In January 1991, Asahi Beer Soft Drinks took over the
drinking water
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...
business from the parent company. The company began sales of its
blended tea
Tea blending is the act of blending different teas together to produce a final product that differs in flavor from the original tea used. This occurs chiefly with black tea, which is blended to make most tea bags, but it can also occur with such t ...
Asahi Jūrokucha
Asahi (朝日, 旭, or あさひ) means "morning sun" in Japanese and may refer to:
Cities
* Asahi, Chiba (旭市; ''Asahi-shi'') Wards
* Asahi-ku, Osaka (旭区; ''Asahi-ku'')
* Asahi-ku, Yokohama (旭; ''Asahi-ku'')
Towns
* Asahi, Aichi (旭 ...
, a blend of 16 different teas, in March 1993. The
Hokuriku manufacturing plant was opened in March 1994. Three subsidiaries (Asahi Beer Soft Drinks, Asahi Beer Soft Drinks Manufacturing, and Hokuriku Asahi Beer Soft Drinks Manufacturing) merged in July 1996 to form Asahi Soft Drinks in order better focus development, manufacturing and marketing efforts.
J.O. Coffee was changed to Wonda Coffee in September 1997, and
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.
*
*
* Woods is widely regarded as ...
began appearing in commercials using the tag line, "Wonderful Wonda." Asahi Soft Drinks was listed on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange
The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed co ...
in August 1999. Asahi Umacha began sales on 2001-03-12 with a commercial by
Studio Ghibli
is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and ha ...
, the
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
studio responsible for ''
Princess Mononoke
is a 1997 Japanese animated epic historical fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network and Dentsu. The film stars the voices of Yōji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida ...
''.
The
Mount Fuji
, or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest p ...
manufacturing plant opened in April 2001.
Tokoro George
, better known by the stage name , is a Japanese comedian, TV personality, singer-songwriter, and essayist. Born in Tokorozawa, Saitama, he attended Takushoku University's Commercial Science class.
Works
Film
*''Madadayo'' (1993) - Amaki
*''Po ...
began doing commercials in October 2002 for Wonda Morning Shot, which was previously named Asahi Sen'yō (lit. ''Asahi Private''). Shot & Shot, a low sugar variety of Wonda, was introduced in January 2005, and a
caffeine
Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine t ...
-free variety of Asahi Jūrokucha was introduced in February. Commercials for Asahi Jūrokucha featured the child actors
Ei Morisako and
Kakeru Totani Kakeru is a Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include:
* , Japanese baseball player
* , Japanese footballer
* , Japanese footballer
* , Japanese novelist
* , Japanese footballer
* , Japanese baseball player
* , Japanese professional ...
, and veteran actor, comedian and singer
Ichirō Zaitsu
, also written Ichiro, Ichirou or Ichiroh is a masculine Japanese given name. The name is occasionally given to the first-born son in a family.
Like many Japanese names, Ichirō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean:
* 一 ...
, as well as music by
Agnes Chan
Agnes Meiling Kaneko Chan (; Japanese: 金子 陳美齢, ''Kaneko Chan Meirin'') is a Hong-Kong-born Japanese singer, television personality, university professor, essayist and novelist. Since 1998, Chan has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador a ...
. A new commercial for Wonda Morning Shot featuring
Yukie Nakama
is a Japanese actress, singer and former idol.
History Biography
She was born in Urasoe, Okinawa, Japan, into a fisherman's family, the youngest of five siblings.
At the start of her career she was a gravure idol and singer (her debut single " ...
and a new commercial for Wonda Shot & Shot featuring
Yūsuke Santamaria
, better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor and singer.
Biography
Santamaria appeared in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2003 film '' Doppelganger''. He starred in Katsuyuki Motohiro
is a Japanese film director.
Filmography
*''Odoru Daisosase ...
were both released in September 2005.
Takarazuka Revue
The is a Japanese all-female musical theatre troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals and stories adapted from films, novels, manga, and Japane ...
actress
Yūki Amami
is a Japanese actress.
Career
Amami joined the Takarazuka Revue in 1987 and retired from the stage company in 1995. Amami was the youngest actress in the company's history to be cast in a top male role. As an , she belonged to the ''Moon Trou ...
appeared in a February 2006 commercial for Asahi Jūrokucha. In April, the unsweetened black canned coffee Wonda 100-nen Black was introduced. In September,
Daizō Harada starred as
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...
in a commercial for Wonda Shot & Shot 69, and in November, Gyugyutto Shimikomu
Collagen
Collagen () is the main structural protein in the extracellular matrix found in the body's various connective tissues. As the main component of connective tissue, it is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up from 25% to 35% of the whole ...
Water was debuted.
Also in 2006, Asahi Soft Drinks published results of a study on naturally occurring
vanadium
Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an oxide layer ( pas ...
in drinking water and its effect on mice with
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
. The study was done in conjunction with Asahi Breweries,
Nihon Pharmaceutical University
is a private university
Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public st ...
, and
Tokyo Medical University
image:Tokyo Medical University 02.JPG, Tokyo Medical University
is a Japanese private university located in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1916, it is one of the medical schools established in Japan before World War II. In accordance with ...
, and found that it prevented weight gain and allowed the mice to use glucose more effectively.
In 2007, Asahi Soft Drinks transferred most of its vending machine operations to its sister company LB, also owned by Asahi Breweries.
Products
Asahi Soft Drinks produces a large number of drinks, including the following:
*Benifūki Ryokucha (
green tea
Green tea is a type of tea that is made from '' Camellia sinensis'' leaves and buds that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process which is used to make oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China, and since the ...
, limited release)
*
Bireley's
Bireley's is a brand of non-carbonated, fruit-flavored soft drinks originally produced by the Frank W. Bireley Company (later Bireley's Inc.), established in California in 1923 by Frank W. Bireley. The brand grew rapidly, becoming known througho ...
(バヤリース)
**Bireley's Orange
**Bireley's Apple
**Bireley's Sarasara Tomato
**Bireley's Bottle Breakfast series
*Cafeo (a
café au lait
''Café au lait'' (; ; French for "coffee with milk") is coffee with hot milk added. It differs from white coffee, which is coffee with cold milk or other whiteners added.
Variations Europe
In Europe, ''café au lait'' stems from the same ...
)
*Dodekamin (
vitamin
A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an Nutrient#Essential nutrients, essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its ...
drink)
*Fauchon (a
black tea
Black tea, also translated to red tea in various East Asian languages, is a type of tea that is more oxidized than oolong, yellow, white and green teas. Black tea is generally stronger in flavour than other teas. All five types are made from ...
)
*Fiber 7500
*Fine Straight Tea
*Gyugyutto Shimikomu Collagen Water (a "
diet
Diet may refer to:
Food
* Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group
* Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake
** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
" water containing
collagen
Collagen () is the main structural protein in the extracellular matrix found in the body's various connective tissues. As the main component of connective tissue, it is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up from 25% to 35% of the whole ...
)
*Ichigeki (sports drink)
*Ikkyūchappa Ūroncha (
Oolong
Oolong (, ; (''wūlóngchá'', "dark dragon" tea)) is a traditional semi-oxidized Chinese tea ('' Camellia sinensis)'' produced through a process including withering the plant under strong sun and oxidation before curling and twisting.Zhonggu ...
tea made from top grade leaves)
*
Jūrokucha (十六茶, a blend of 16 teas)
*Kōcha Pūarucha (a
pu-erh tea
''Pu'er'' or ''pu-erh'' is a variety of fermented tea traditionally produced in Yunnan Province, China. In the context of traditional Chinese tea production terminology, fermentation refers to microbial fermentation (called 'wet piling'), an ...
)
*Kuchidoke Cocoa ("kuchidoke" means "melts in your mouth", only sold during winter)
*Kuromugicha (a
rye tea)
*
Mitsuya Cider
is a Japanese carbonated soft drink, created in 1884 and acquired by Asahi Soft Drinks in 1972.
While branded as a "cider", the Cider#East Asia, East Asian use of "cider" refers to a very different drink from that typically referred to in Eng ...
*Sansōsui (
oxygen
Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...
water)
*Super H²O (
sports drink
Sports drinks, also known as electrolyte drinks, are functional beverages whose stated purpose is to help Sportsperson, athletes replace water, electrolytes, and energy before, during and especially after training or competition. There are many ...
)
*Tōchō Ūroncha (Oolong tea sold at
7-Eleven
7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...
stores)
*Vanadium Tennen Mizu (natural
mineral water
Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases.
Tra ...
containing
vanadium
Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal. The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an oxide layer ( pas ...
)
*Wakamusha (若武者, meaning "young
samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
," a green tea)
*White Milk Tea
*Wilkinson
**
Ginger ale
Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph ...
(dry and golden)
**
Tonic water
Tonic water (or Indian tonic water) is a carbonated soft drink in which quinine is dissolved. Originally used as a prophylactic against malaria, tonic water usually has a significantly lower quinine content and is consumed for its distinctive b ...
*Wonda (canned coffee)
**Wonda Morning Shot
**Wonda Shot & Shot 69
**Wonda 100-nen Black
Discontinued products
*Cha-Tea (a black tea)
*Mitsuya Coffee/Nova/J.O. (coffee, became Wonda)
*Ocha Dōzo (a green tea introduced at the same time as Jūrokucha)
*Tea Quality (a black tea)
*TeaO (a black tea)
*Umacha (a green tea, replaced by Wakamusha)
**Nigorase Umacha
See also
*
Asahi Breweries
is a Japanese global beer, spirits, soft drinks and food business group headquartered in Sumida, Tokyo.
In 2019, the group had revenue of JPY 2.1 trillion. Asahi's business portfolio can be segmented as follows: alcoholic beverage business (4 ...
References
External links
Asahi Soft Drinks Co., LtdAsahi Voice Park(information about Asahi Soft Drink commercials
{{Authority control
Asahi Breweries
Companies formerly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
Drink companies of Japan
Food and drink companies established in 1982
Soft drinks manufacturers
1982 establishments in Japan