Mitsunori Saeki, CEO of Mitsui Norin Co., Ltd., shares how the 115-year-old tea specialist is blending tradition with innovation—from functional polyphenol-rich drinks to upcycling initiatives—while eyeing global expansion and a bold leap into coffee.
Japanese companies have a history of taking products that were not originally unique to Japan and adding value and improving them to where they become popular in the West again. Food examples include S&B Foods and CoCo Ichibanya, whose curry has become so popular that they’re now selling it in India, the home of curry. How do Japanese companies so successfully reinterpret these products that aren’t original to Japan?
As for your question, Japanese companies have traditionally imported overseas products and have made improvements via the endless pursuit of better quality. Attention to detail has been one of the hallmark elements of Japanese companies’ pursuit of this goal. As for our company, our primary expertise is black tea, especially in blending. The biggest difference between the Western nations and Japan is the water. Western nations use hard water, whereas Japan uses soft water, so creating blends that are appropriate to Japanese preferences, considering this water aspect, is an important aspect of our products…
