A young Sado brewer takes 'Utashiro' to six countries

A 33-year-old brewer takes over a Sado sake brewery

Tenryohai Shuzo is a sake brewery on Sado Island, which lies in the Sea of Japan off the coast of Niigata Prefecture. In 2018, Senichi Kato, originally from Chiba Prefecture, took over the brewery through a business succession and, at the time of reporting, served as its 33-year-old president. According to the local Niigata Nippo, Kato had planned to expand overseas from the moment he inherited the brewery. In Japan’s sake industry, where businesses are often passed down within a family, this is where the story begins: a young manager from outside took over a brewery and kept the world in view from the start.

First a name at home, then abroad

The brewery did not rush into exports, however. Kato reasoned that overseas buyers choose sake based on its reputation in Japan, and he concluded that it was essential first to build strong name recognition and popularity at home. At the centre of that effort is the flagship brand Utashiro. With this brand, which has won support across Japan, as its figurehead, the brewery began exporting in earnest this year and, in about six months, entered six countries and regions in Asia and North America. It has also set out a goal of raising exports to 25% of sales in ten years.

Upgrading equipment and rethinking existing brands

Alongside its overseas expansion, the brewery is also investing in more equipment and rebranding its existing labels. It makes seasonal sake under Tenryohai, the brand that shares its name with the brewery, and aims to strengthen its business foundations with both the flagship Utashiro and its established brands.

The destinations named in the reports were in Asia and North America, and at the time of reporting, expansion into Europe was still to come. Even so, the brewery’s sequence of consolidating its reputation at home before going abroad offers a clue to which markets small Japanese breweries might target next. If you are looking for it in Europe, look for the characters 雅楽代 or the spelling “Utashiro” on the label. Niigata sake is known for the style called tanrei karakuchi, light and dry with a clean finish, and the brewer behind Utashiro puts out its message under the theme of “a new Niigata tanrei”. If you get hold of a bottle, you might chill it well, pour it into a white wine glass and notice how gentle the aroma is and how crisply it finishes. If a seasonal sake comes your way, comparing it with the same brewery’s standard bottling is another way to enjoy it.