is a Japanese manufacturer and distributor of

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

-based foods, and fruit and vegetable juices. Its core product is the Yasai Seikatsu 100 brand of

vegetable juice Vegetable juice is a juice drink made primarily of blended vegetables and also available in the form of powders. Vegetable juice is often mixed with fruits such as apples or grapes to improve flavor. It is often touted as a low-sugar alternative t ...

, introduced in 1995. It also claims to be Japan's largest supplier of tomato ketchup and

tomato juice Tomato juice is a juice made from tomatoes, usually used as a beverage, either plain or in cocktails such as a Bloody Mary (cocktail), Bloody Mary, a Caesar (cocktail), Caesar, or Michelada. Production Many commercial manufacturers of tomato ju ...

. Kagome grows tomatoes in

greenhouse A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...

s and

market garden A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to s ...

s in Japan. Since 2007, it has partnered with

Asahi Breweries The is a Japanese beverage holding company 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 drink, alcoholic beverage business (40.5%), over ...

() to develop low alcohol fruit and vegetable drinks. U.S.-based global fast food restaurateur,

Yum! Brands Yum! Brands, Inc. (sometimes called simply Yum!) is an American multinational fast food corporation. It is a spin-off of PepsiCo, after they acquired KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. PepsiCo divested the brands in 1997, and these consolidated as ...

, awarded its 2008 Asia Franchise STAR to Kagome.

History

Ichitaro Kanie began cultivating

es in 1899 — according to Kagome, these were the first grown in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. He soon began producing tomato ketchup and

Worcester sauce Worcestershire sauce or Worcester sauce (UK: ) is a fermented liquid condiment invented by pharmacists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins in the city of Worcester in Worcestershire, England, during the first half of the 19th century ...

. However, tomato juice was not sold until 1933. The Kagome trademark was registered in 1917, and the Aichi Tomato Co., Ltd was incorporated in 1949. In 1963, Aichi Tomato became Kagome Co., Ltd, and fifteen years later, gained a listing on the

Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. The exchange is owned by Japan Exchange Group (JPX), a holding company that it also lists (), and operated by Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc., a wholly owned sub ...

. Beginning with the 1998 incorporation of a United States subsidiary, Kagome developed overseas, with subsidiaries and minority stakes in affiliates in Asia, North America and Europe, and a strategic alliance with the H. J. Heinz Company. It also purchased a Japanese company specializing in vegetable

lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillales are an order of gram-positive, low-GC, acid-tolerant, generally nonsporulating, nonrespiring, either rod-shaped (bacilli) or spherical ( cocci) bacteria that share common metabolic and physiological characteristics. These bact ...

, Yukijirushi Labio Co., Ltd, now Kagome Labio Co., Ltd.

References

External links

Kagome website
(Japanese)
Kagome Foods India website
{{Authority control Japanese companies established in 1949 Food and drink companies established in 1949 Food and drink companies of Japan Manufacturing companies based in Nagoya Condiment companies of Japan Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Japanese brands