(commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of

alcoholic beverage Drinks containing alcohol (drug), alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and Distilled beverage, spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered Non-al ...

s in Japan, and makes

Japanese whisky Japanese whisky is a style of whisky developed and produced in Japan. Whisky production in Japan began around 1870, but the first commercial production was in 1923 upon the opening of the country's first whisky distillery, Yamazaki Distillery, Ya ...

. Its business has expanded to other fields, and the company now also makes

soft drink A soft drink (see #Terminology, § Terminology for other names) is a class of non-alcoholic drink, usually (but not necessarily) Carbonated water, carbonated, and typically including added Sweetness, sweetener. Flavors used to be Natural flav ...

s and operates sandwich chains. With its 2014 acquisition of Beam, Inc., it has diversified internationally and become the third largest maker of

distilled beverage Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. While the ...

s in the world. Suntory is headquartered in Dojimahama 2-

chome The Japanese addressing system is used to identify a specific location in Japan. When written in Japanese characters, addresses start with the largest geographical entity and proceed to the most specific one. The Japanese system is complex, th ...

Kita-ku, Osaka is one of 24 wards of Japan, wards of Osaka in Japan. Incidents and accidents * 1970 Tenroku gas explosion * 2021 Osaka building fire Notable locations Kita-ku, particularly the Umeda area surrounding Osaka Station, is one of the main comm ...

Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nara ...

History

Suntory was started by , who first opened his store in Osaka on February 1, 1899, to sell imported wines. In 1907, the store began selling a

fortified wine Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Command ...

called Akadama Port Wine (Akadama literally meaning "red ball," a euphemism for the sun). The store became the Kotobukiya company in 1921 to further expand its business and in 1923, Torii built Japan's first malt whisky distillery Yamazaki Distillery. Due to shortages during World War II, Kotobukiya was forced to halt its development of new products, but in 1946 it re-released Torys Whisky, which sold well in post-war Japan. In 1961, Kotobukiya launched the "Drink Torys and Go to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

" campaign. At the time, a trip abroad was considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In 1963, Kotobukiya changed its name to "Suntory", taken from the name of the whisky it produces, which itself was derived from the English "Sun" (referencing "akadama") + Tory, the anglicized version of Torii's name. In the same year, Musashino Beer Factory began its production of the Suntory Beer. On April 1, 2009, Suntory became a stockholding company named and established , , , , , , and . On July 14, 2009, Kirin announced that it was negotiating with Suntory on a merger. On February 8, 2010, it was announced that negotiations between the two were terminated. In 2009, Suntory acquired Orangina-Schweppes, the owner of the orange soft drink

Orangina Orangina () is a lightly carbonated beverage made from carbonated water, 12% citrus juice (10% from concentrated Orange juice, orange, 2% from a combination of concentrated Lemon juice, lemon, concentrated mandarin orange, mandarin, and concentr ...

, for 300 billion yen, and

Frucor Suntory Oceania, formerly known as Frucor and Frucor Suntory, is a Japanese-owned beverage company operating in Australasia, and headquartered in Sydney, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand. The company is known for its V energy drink launche ...

energy drinks for 600 million euros. On July 2, 2013, the company debuted 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 ...

and raised almost US$4

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: * 1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is now the most common sense of the word in all varieties of ...

in the process. In September 2013, Suntory purchased the drinks division of

GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a Mergers an ...

. This included the brands

Lucozade Lucozade is a British brand of soft drinks and energy drinks manufactured and marketed by the Japanese company Suntory. Created as "Glucozade" in the UK in 1927 by a Newcastle pharmacist, William Walker Hunter (trading as W. Owen & Son), it wa ...

and

Ribena Ribena ( ) is a brand of blackcurrant-based soft drink (both uncarbonated and carbonated), and Squash (drink), fruit drink concentrate designed to be mixed with water. It is available in bottles, cans and multi-packs. Originally of England, Engl ...

, however, the deal did not include

Horlicks Horlicks is a British sweet malted milk hot Malt drink, drink powder developed by founders Sir James Horlick, 1st Baronet, James and William Horlick. It was first sold as "Horlick's Infant and Invalids Food", soon adding "aged and travellers" ...

.Angela Monagha
"Ribena and Lucozade sold to Japanese drinks giant"
''The Guardian'', September 9, 2013 In January 2014, Suntory announced an agreement to buy the largest U.S. bourbon producer, Beam Inc. (producers of

Jim Beam Jim Beam is an American brand of bourbon whiskey produced primarily at James B. Beam Distilling Co. in Clermont, Kentucky by Suntory Global Spirits. It is one of the best-selling brands of bourbon in the world. Since 1795 (interrupted by Prohi ...

) for US$16 billion. This deal would make Suntory the world's third largest spirits maker. The acquisition was completed in April 2014, when it was announced that the new subsidiary would be renamed Beam Suntory. In December 2016, Beam Suntory acquired the gin maker

Sipsmith Sipsmith is a microdistillery located in London. It is the first copper-pot distillery to open within Greater London' in nearly two centuries. It has been owned by Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan, since ...

. In November 2017, Suntory and PepsiCo form a joint venture in Thailand. In 2018, Suntory sold most of

Cerebos Pacific Cerebos Pacific Limited (CPL) was a company that sold health supplements, food and coffee products across the Asia-Pacific region. In 2018, Kraft Heinz acquired Cerebos from Japan's Suntory Holdings. History Cerebos Pacific Limited traces i ...

assets, including Australian and New Zealand food business to

Kraft Heinz The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC), commonly known as Kraft Heinz (), is an American multinational food company formed by the merger of Kraft Foods Group, Inc. and the H.J. Heinz Company co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Kraft Heinz is t ...

for A$290 million. This transaction excludes Cerebos Pacific's health supplements and fresh coffee business which later integrated into Suntory Beverage & Food Asia Pte. Ltd. and Suntory Coffee Australia respectively. In March 2023,

Makiko Ono Makiko Ono (born March 16, 1960) is a Japanese business woman and the CEO of Suntory Beverages and Food. She is the first woman to become a Chief Executive at Suntory. She was previously responsible for foreign acquisitions, and secured partners ...

became the first woman to be appointed CEO of Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd. In May 2024, Beam Suntory was re-branded as

Suntory Global Spirits Suntory Global Spirits Inc., formerly known as Beam Suntory, Inc., is an American beverage company that is a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings, a Japanese multinational beverage conglomerate. The company produces alcoholic beverages. It is the th ...

including the launch of a new website and visual identity. In December 2024, it was announced that Nobuhiro Torii, great-grandson of founder , would be promoted to President of Suntory Holdings from March 2025, with incumbent President Takeshi Niinami became chairman.

Subsidiaries

* Château Lagrange S.A.S * Florigene Pty Ltd *Gold Knoll Ltd *Grupo Restaurante Suntory Mexico * Morrison Bowmore Distillers, Limited *

*Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC *Suntory Beverage & Food Asia Pte. Ltd. *

* Suntory Oceania *Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage Co., Ltd (joint venture with

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase, New York, Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the f ...

) *Subway Japan *Tipco F&B Co., Ltd

Joint ventures

From the early 1990s, Suntory has collaborated extensively with Melbourne biotechnology firm Florigene to genetically engineer the world's first true

blue rose A blue rose is a flower of the genus ''Rosa'' (family Rosaceae) that presents blue-to-violet pigmentation instead of the more common red, white, or yellow, through use of artificial means such as dyes. Blue roses are often used to symbolize myst ...

, a symbol often associated with the impossible or unattainable. In 1991, the team won the intense global race to isolate the gene responsible for blue flowers, and has since developed a range of genetically modified flowers expressing colors in the blue spectrum, as well as a number of other breakthroughs extending the

vase life Vase life is a term used by the floristry industry that describes the period during which a Cut flowers, cut flower or cut foliage retains its appearance in a vase. This is a major consideration in identifying plant species suitable for use in flori ...

of cut flowers. In 2003, Suntory acquired a 98.5% equity holding in Florigene. Prior to this, Florigene had been a subsidiary of global agrochemicals giant

Nufarm Nufarm is an Australian agricultural chemical company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. Established in 1956, the company was founded by Max Fremder. It holds more than 2,100 product registrations, and markets products in more than 100 countri ...

since 1999. In July 2004, Suntory and Florigene scientists announced to the world the development of the first roses containing blue pigment, an important step toward the creation of a truly blue colored rose. In July 2011, Suntory Beverage and Food Limited together with PT GarudaFood from Tudung Group in Indonesia have agreed to make a new firm to produce non-alcoholic drink with 51 percent and 49 percent shares respectively. It will produce Suntory Oolong Tea, Boss and

. In April 2019, Suntory partnered with Drinkripples, an Israeli-based company. As part of the collaboration Suntory will use Drinkripples' Ripple Maker machines to print branded and viral content on top of Suntory beer in Suntory certified locations and factories throughout Japan.

Brands

Suntory beverage brands include: Soft drinks:

Bikkle Bikkle (ビックル) is a Japanese yogurt-based drink. Produced by Japanese drink giant Suntory, it can be found in vending machines for 100-120 yen and also at convenience stores and supermarkets. It comes in a small glass bottle, although sin ...

Boss Coffee is a brand name of canned and plastic bottled coffee and coffee-flavored beverages sold by Suntory in Japan. History Boss was first released in 1992 and is one of many brands of Japanese canned coffee. Since 2006, American actor Tommy Lee Jon ...

, C.C. Lemon,

Calcium and Iron Beverage (commonly referred to as simply Suntory) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages in Japan, and makes Japanese whisky. ...

, Gini, Green DAKARA, Iyemon,

, MayTea,

Mizone Mizone, also known as Mizone Sports Water, is a formulated sports drink manufactured by Frucor Suntory, a Japanese-owned beverage company operating in Australasia. The main consumer targets are generally male athletes aged between 25 and 34, and l ...

, Nature’s Twist,

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentIced Oolong Tea,

Schweppes Schweppes ( , ) is a soft drink brand founded in the Republic of Geneva in 1783 by the German watchmaker and amateur scientist Johann Jacob Schweppe; it is now made, bottled, and distributed worldwide by multiple international conglomerates, de ...

, TEA+, Tennensui, V,

Pepsi Special Pepsi Special is a cola flavored soft drink offered in Japan from PepsiCo that contains Dextrin. Suntory, the manufacturer of the beverage claims that the dextrin in the drink suppresses the absorption of fat. The Government of Japan stated that ...

Beer: All-Free, Kin-Mugi, The Premium Malt's Gin: Larios,

, Roku Liqueur:

DeKuyper DeKuyper Royal Distillers () is a privately held Dutch company in the business of manufacturing and marketing distilled spirits and liqueurs. The company was founded in 1695 by Petrus De Kuyper as a manufacturer of barrels and casks used in th ...

Midori Midori (みどり, ミドリ, , , ) is the Japanese word for "green" and may refer to: Places * Midori, Gunma * Midori-ku, Chiba * Midori-ku, Nagoya * Midori-ku, Sagamihara * Midori-ku, Saitama * Midori-ku, Yokohama People Given name * M ...

Sourz Sourz is a fruit-flavoured liqueur owned and produced by Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan. The liqueur is usually served as a Shooter (drink), shooter, but is also used in cocktails. It is known for being v ...

Rum: Cruzan Tequila: El Tesoro de Don Felipe, Hornitos, Sauza,

Tres Generaciones Sauza Tequila Import Company is a producer of tequila located in Tequila, a municipality of the state of Jalisco, Mexico and owned by Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan. The company was founded in 1873 when ...

, 100 Años Vodka: Effen, Haku,

Pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was main ...

, Vox Bourbon whiskey: Baker's,

Basil Hayden's Basil Hayden's is the lightest-bodied bourbon whiskey in the family of Jim Beam small batch bourbons produced by Suntory Global Spirits (a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan). It is 80 proof, in contrast with its three sibling brands ...

, Beam's Eight Star,

Booker's Booker's bourbon is one of the small batch bourbons produced by the Jim Beam distillery, which is owned by Suntory Global Spirits (a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan). Having the highest alcohol content of the brands in the Jim Be ...

, Kessler, Knob Creek, Legent,

Maker's Mark Maker's Mark is a small-batch bourbon whisky produced in Loretto, Kentucky, by Suntory Global Spirits. It is bottled at 90 U.S. proof (45% alcohol by volume) and sold in squarish bottles sealed with red wax. The distillery offers tours, and ...

Old Crow Old Crow is a low-priced brand of Kentucky-made straight bourbon whiskey distilled by Suntory Global Spirits, which also produces Jim Beam and several other brands of whiskey. The current Old Crow product uses the same mash bill and yeast as ...

Old Grand-Dad Old Grand-Dad is a brand of bourbon whiskey distilled at the Jim Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky. The brand was created by Raymond B. Hayden and named after his grandfather Meredith Basil Hayden Sr., who was a well known distiller during h ...

Canadian whisky: Alberta Premium,

Canadian Club Canadian Club () is a brand of Canadian whisky produced by Suntory Global Spirits. Popularly known as CC, Canadian Club was created by Hiram Walker and Sons, an evolution of a brand around a product that took place over the second half of the ...

Irish whiskey:

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

Kilbeggan Kilbeggan () is a town in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is in the barony of Moycashel. Geography Kilbeggan is situated on the River Brosna, in the south of County Westmeath. It lies south of Lough Ennell, and Castletown Geoghegan, north of ...

, The Tyrconnell Japanese whisky: Chita, Hakushu, Hibiki, Kakubin, Toki,

Yamazaki Yamazaki or Yamasaki (written: lit. "mountain promontory") is the 22nd most common Japanese surname. Less common variants are and . Notable people with the surname include: * Amy Yamazaki, British actress * Arturo Yamasaki, Peruvian-Mexican fo ...

Scotch whisky: Single malt Scotch: Ardmore, Auchentoshan,

Bowmore Bowmore (, 'Big Bend') is a small town on the Scottish island of Islay, situated on the banks of the sea loch, Loch Indaal. It serves as administrative capital of the island, and gives its name to the noted Bowmore distillery producing Bowmor ...

Glen Garioch Glen Garioch distillery (pronounced "Geery" in the Doric dialect of Aberdeen) is a Highland single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is one of the oldest whisky distilleries in Scotland, dating back to 1797. It is ...

Laphroaig Laphroaig distillery ( ) is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery on Islay, Scotland. It is situated on the south coast of the island, near Port Ellen, at the head of a small bay known as Loch Laphroaig. The Lagavulin and Ardbeg distillerie ...

Blended Scotch whisky:

Teacher's Highland Cream Teacher's Highland Cream is a brand of blended Scotch whisky produced in Glasgow, Scotland by Suntory Global Spirits, a subsidiary of Suntory Holdings of Osaka, Japan. History In 1830, William Teacher took advantage of the new "Excise Act" and ...

Spanish whisky: DYC whisky Wine:

Akadama is a naturally occurring, granular clay-like mineral used as soil for bonsai trees and other container-grown plants. It is surface-mined, immediately sifted and bagged, and supplied in various grades; the deeper-mined grade are somewhat harde ...

, Delica Maison, Château Lagrange Les Fiefs de Lagrange

Media and advertising

* Suntory was one of the first East Asian companies to specifically employ American celebrities to market their product. One of the most notable is

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

, who appeared in a series of Suntory commercials in the early 1970s. In the late 1970s,

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...

directed a series of commercials featuring American celebrities on the set of his film ''

Kagemusha is a 1980 epic jidaigeki film directed by Akira Kurosawa. It is set in the Sengoku period of Japanese history and tells the story of a lower-class petty thief who is taught to impersonate the dying ''daimyō'' Takeda Shingen to dissuade oppos ...

''. One of these featured

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

(an executive producer of the film), which later inspired his daughter

Sofia Coppola Sofia Carmina Coppola ( , ; born May 14, 1971) is an American filmmaker and former actress. She has List of awards and nominations received by Sofia Coppola, won an Academy Awards, Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, a Golden Lion, and a Can ...

in her writing of '' Lost in Translation'', a film which focuses on an American actor (played by

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...

) filming a Suntory commercial in Tokyo for the ''Hibiki'' whisky. * Suntory operates two museums, the

Suntory Museum of Art The is an arts museum located in Tokyo Midtown, Roppongi, Tokyo. It is owned by the Suntory corporation. The collection theme of the art works is "Art in life" and they mainly have Japanese antiques. The museum houses more than 3,000 cultural ob ...

in Tokyo and the Suntory Museum Tempozan in Osaka, in addition to a number of cultural and social programs across Japan. * In the 1970s, Suntory engaged the US pop group

the Carpenters The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinctive soft musical style, combining ...

to advertise its new line of soft drinks. * Suntory is a former sponsor of the professional match play golf tournament, played annually at Wentworth Club, near London. * In 2023 for Suntory's 100th year anniversary, and 20 years after the appearance of ''Lost in Translation'', director Sofia Coppola was asked to direct the company's anniversary tribute video starring

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor and musician. The recipient of numerous accolades in a career on screen spanning four decades, he is known for his leading roles in action films, his amiable public imag ...

, with a mix that included scenes from her film along with footage of her father and Akira Kurosawa's Suntory Whiskey advertisement from the 1970s.

References

External links

*
Yahoo! - Suntory Japan company profile
{{Authority control Beer brands of Japan Breweries in Japan Beer in Japan Japanese brands Alcoholic drink companies Drink companies of Japan Wineries of Japan PepsiCo bottlers Japanese companies established in 1899 Holding companies established in 1899 Food and drink companies established in 1899 Holding companies of Japan Midori-kai Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Soft drinks manufacturers Manufacturing companies established in 1899