Suntory
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Suntory Limited (サントリー株式会社 Santorī Kabushiki-gaisha?) is a Japanese brewing and distilling company. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of alcoholic beverages. Its business has expanded to other fields, and the company now offers everything from soft drinks to vintage wines. Suntory is headquartered in Dojimahama, Kita-ku, Osaka, Osaka prefecture.
In the 1970's, Suntory engaged US pop group, the Carpenters, to advertise its new line of soft drinks
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[edit] History
Suntory was started by Torii Shinjiro, who first opened his store Torii Shoten in Osaka on February 1, 1899 to sell imported wines. In 1907, the store began selling a sweet tasting red wine called Akadama Port Wine. The store became Kotobukiya company in 1921 to further expand its business. In December 1924, Yamazaki Distillery, the first whiskey distillery in the country, began its production of malt whiskey. Five years later Suntory Whiskey Sirofuda (White Label), the first single malt whiskey made in Japan, was sold.
Due to wartime shortage of World War II, Kotobukiya was briefly forced to halt its development of new products. In 1961, Kotobukiya launched the famous "Drink Tris Whiskey and Go to Hawaii" 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 famous whiskey it produces. In the same year, Musashino Beer Factory began its production of the Suntory Beer. In 1997, the company became Japan's sole bottler, distributor, and licensee of Pepsi products.
[edit] 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 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 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 Limited 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.
[edit] In the media
Suntory was one of the first Asian companies to specifically covet American celebrities to market their product. In the late 1970s, Akira Kurosawa directed a famous series of commercials featuring American celebrities on the set of his film Kagemusha. One of these featured Francis Ford Coppola (an executive producer of the film), which later inspired Sofia Coppola in the writing of Lost in Translation, a film which focuses on an American actor filming a Suntory commercial in Tokyo. Suntory was also seen on-screen in the 2006 film Babel (film).
A Reuters photo by Toshiyuki Aizawa from July, 2003 showed Suntory's unusual marketing strategy of TV helmets. In this scheme, advertising company employees clad in orange jumpsuits wear televisions that broadcast wide-screen digital feeds of the brewing company's commercial on top of their helmets.
Suntory operates two museums, the Suntory Museum of Art in Tokyo and the Suntory Museum Tempozan in Osaka, in addition to a number of cultural and social programs across Japan.
There is also a variation of the video game Tapper featuring the Suntory logo which was produced by Bally-Midway in 1983.
[edit] See also
- Suntory Sungoliath rugby club
