is a Japanese

sports drink Sports drinks, also known as electrolyte drinks, are non-caffeinated functional beverages whose stated purpose is to help athletes replace water, electrolytes, and energy before, during and (especially) after training or competition. The eviden ...

, manufactured by

Otsuka Pharmaceutical (), abbreviated OPC, is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Tokyo, Osaka and Naruto, Tokushima, Naruto, Japan. The company was established August 10, 1964. History OPC's parent company Otsuka Holdings Co. Ltd. joined the Tokyo Stock Excha ...

. It was launched in 1980, and is sold across Asia and the Middle East; it is also available in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Pocari Sweat is a mild-tasting, non-carbonated sweet beverage and is advertised as an "ion supply drink", "refreshment water" (1992), "body request" (1999), and "electrolyte beverage" in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. It has a mild grapefruit flavor with little aftertaste. Ingredients listed are sugar (Japan-processed), high fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, salt / acidulant, fragrance, potassium chloride, calcium lactate, flavor enhancer (amino acids), magnesium chloride, antioxidants (vitamin C). It is sold in aluminium cans,

PET bottles A plastic bottle is a bottle constructed from high-density or low density plastic. Plastic bottles are typically used to store liquids such as water, soft drinks, motor oil, cooking oil, medicine, shampoo or milk. They range in sizes, from very ...

, and as a powder for mixing with water. An artificially sweetened version with reduced sugar called is also sold.

History

Pocari Sweat was launched in 1980 in Japan by Rokuro Harima, an Otsuka Pharmaceutical employee who came up with the idea after observing a doctor drink IV solution to rehydrate. Harima had taken a trip to the hospital after getting

diarrhea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

during a business trip to Mexico, and wondered if a drink could provide both the water and nutrients he needed to recover. Wary of

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. The drink is owned and manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was develope ...

's dominance of the United States market, Pocari Sweat focused on expansion into Asia and the Middle East. In 1982, it was exported overseas for the first time, to Hong Kong and Taiwan, followed the next year by Singapore, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia. By the mid-1990s, Pocari Sweat had become Japan's first domestically produced non-alcoholic drink to ship over $1 billion in product.

Name

The name ''Pocari Sweat'' was chosen by the manufacturers for the purpose of marketing the product as a sports drink in Japan, where English words are used differently. It was largely derived from the notion of what it is intended to supply to the drinker: all of the nutrients and

electrolytes An electrolyte is a substance that conducts electricity through the movement of ions, but not through the movement of electrons. This includes most soluble salts, acids, and bases, dissolved in a polar solvent like water. Upon dissolving, t ...

lost when sweating. The first part of the name, ''Pocari'', has no meaning but was intended to sound refreshing.

Marketing

Pocari Sweat has maintained the same blue-and-white color scheme since its inception in 1980. Originally sold in a 245 mL can, it has been sold primarily in bottle form since 1990. Otsuka began a targeted marketing campaign in Indonesia after an outbreak of

dengue fever Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by dengue virus, prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas. Asymptomatic infections are uncommon, mild cases happen frequently; if symptoms appear, they typically begin 3 to 14 days after i ...

in 2010, promoting the drink to prevent dehydration, a common symptom of the disease. On 15 May 2014, Pocari Sweat started a project to send a "dream capsule" to the Moon with the help of Quantum Aerospace. The capsule was made in the same shape as a Pocari Sweat can and filled with Pocari Sweat powder. It was intended to be the first commercial product advertised on the Moon. Originally scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in October 2015, it was flown on the

Astrobotic Technology Astrobotic Technology, Inc., commonly referred to as Astrobotic, is an American private company that is developing space robotics technology for lunar and planetary missions. It was founded in 2007 by Carnegie Mellon professor Red Whittaker a ...

lander Peregrine that failed to reach the Moon and burned in the Earth's atmosphere in January 2024. The company also has done extensive advertising through

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

. The technical director for the film ''

Your Name is a 2016 Japanese animated romantic fantasy film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, produced by CoMix Wave Films, and distributed by Toho. Inspired by the frequency of natural disasters in Japan, the film depicts the story of high scho ...

'' helped create a 2019 anime-styled advertisement. Pocari Sweat released a January 2021 special episode of the ''

Cells at Work! is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by . It features the anthropomorphized cells of a human body, with the two main protagonists being a red blood cell and a white blood cell she frequently encounters. It wa ...

'' anime promoting the drink as a way to prevent

heat stroke Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun-stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstro ...

References

External links

Official website

Pocari Sweat in Otsuka's website
(Japanese and English)
History of the development of Pocari Sweat
(English) {{Japanese food and drink 1980 establishments in Japan Japanese drink brands Otsuka Pharmaceutical Products introduced in 1980 Sports drinks

History

Name

Marketing

See also

References

External links