is the fifth-largest beer

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

in Japan, headquartered in

Urasoe is a city located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The neighboring municipalities are Naha to the south, Ginowan to the north, and Nishihara to the east. As of November 2012, the city has an estimated population of 113,718 and a population den ...

Okinawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city o ...

. The company commands approximately 1% of the Japanese beer market, and controls 60% of the beer market on Okinawa.

History

Founded in 1957 in

Nago ''Nagu'', Kunigami: ''Naguu'' is a city located in the northern part of Okinawa Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. As of December 2012, the city has an estimated population of 61,659 and a population density of 288 persons per km2. Its tota ...

, Okinawa during the American occupation of Okinawa, Orion began making beer in 1959. Orion struggled to compete with the other major Japanese breweries, but after changing from a German-style beer to an American-style beer, it gained the top share in the Okinawan market. Up until 2002, it had a market that was limited to mostly Okinawa. Since 2002, Orion partnered with

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 ...

to manufacture Asahi beers in Okinawa, in return for Asahi's assistance in selling Orion beer outside of Okinawa. Asahi owns 10% of Orion Breweries.Nomura and Carlyle to acquire Okinawa's Orion Breweries
''Nikkei.com'', 18 January 2019 In January 2019,

Nomura Holdings is a Japanese financial holding company and a principal member of the Nomura Group. It, along with its broker-dealer, banking and other financial services subsidiaries, provides investment, financing and related services to individual, institut ...

and

The Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and pri ...

entered talks to acquire Orion Breweries and help the beer brand expand in the USA and in Asia. On May 14, 2019, Orion entered the

chūhai , an abbreviation of " shōchū highball" (焼酎ハイボール), is an alcoholic drink originating from Japan. Traditional chūhai is made with barley shōchū and carbonated water flavored with lemon, but some modern commercial variants ...

market with the release of the WATTA chūhai brand, using traditional Okinawan flavors. In July 2019, Keiju Hayase was appointed President and CEO of Orion Breweries. In 2020, Orion Breweries stopped the production and distribution of its 9% ABV beer, Watta Strong, in a move to fight alcoholism, the first major brewery in Japan to make a move in this direction.

Description

Orion uses water that comes from springs out of the mountain near the brewery. The brewery imports its malt from Germany, and also uses German

Hallertau The Hallertau or Holledau is an area in Bavaria, Germany. With an area of 178 km², it is listed as the largest continuous hop-planting area in the world.Bentley, James; Catling, Christopher; & Locke, Tim (1994). ''Munich and Bavaria''. Chicago: ...

and Czech

Saaz Saaz may refer to: *Saaz, the former German name of Žatec, a town in the Czech Republic **Saaz hops, a hop variety used in production of pilsener style beer **DSV Saaz, a former football club in Žatec * ''Saaz'' (film), a 1998 Indian film * Saaz ...

hops. The brand is known by the US military personnel stationed in Okinawa. The company's sales outside of Japan make up 5% of its sales. In 2017, Orion Breweries recorded sales of 28.3 billion yen. In Korea, Orion beer is marketed under the brand name Okinawa. Orion beer sponsors the Okinawan wrestler

Menso-re Oyaji , is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working under the name for All Japan Pro Wrestling where he is a former four-time Gaora TV Champion. He was previously known as the similar masked character , under which he performed for several ...

. Akihito Yagi, 8th Dan in

Meibukan {{short description, Style of karate Meibukan (明武舘) is a branch of Gōjū-ryū karate. It was created by Meitoku Yagi, a student of Gojyu-ryu's founder, Chojun Miyagi. Meibukan means "House of the pure-minded warrior." Yagi opened the first ...

Goju Ryu Karate-do, which his late grandfather (Meitoku Yagi) created, and who is the current chairman of the International Meibukan Goju Ryu Karate Association (IMGKA), is a spokesman for Orion beer.

In popular culture

In one episode of ''

Wakakozake is a Japanese manga series by Chie Shinkyu. It has been serialized by Tokuma Shoten in the ''seinen'' manga magazine '' Monthly Comic Zenon'' since the September 2011 issue; it is also available on ''Web Comic Zenyon''. The series has thir ...

'', the main character Wakako tries out different restaurants to pair foods with drinks, and pairs goya chanpuru with Orion beer.Vanessa Rose
10 Food-Based Anime That Feature Real-Life Brands
''Cbr.com'', 7 May 2021

References

External links

Orion official site

Orion official site
{{Authority control Beer in Japan Companies based in Okinawa Prefecture Japanese brands Food and drink companies established in 1957 Japanese companies established in 1957