Launch of Iyemon Brand in the San Francisco Bay Area

— Two Iyemon Cha varieties to go on sale from May 19 —
— Marketing contract concluded with Nestle Waters North America —

Suntory Limited has concluded a marketing contract with Nestle Waters North America*¹ (Headquarters: Connecticut; CEO: Kim Jeffery), and will commence sales of two varieties of its Iyemon brand – Iyemon Cha Original Green Tea and Iyemon Cha Roasted Green Tea – in the San Francisco Bay area from May 19. The two new varieties have been tailored for the overseas market.

Since the launch of Iyemon Cha in Japan in March 2004, we have engaged in a variety of activities designed to communicate to our customers through the medium of teas, carefully selected by one of the country’s long-established tea houses, the benefits and pleasures of the rich lifestyle – the “slow life” – that has been nurtured in Japan. In our desire to communicate our feeling for tea to even more people, we began to examine the possibility of marketing our tea overseas.

In part as a result of increased health-consciousness, the U.S. beverage market has in recent years seen a decline in sales of carbonated beverages and a consequent increase in sales of non-carbonated beverages. People in the U.S. are also increasingly aware of Japan’s healthy and delicious culinary traditions, and Japanese food is experiencing a boom in the country. We believe that the market for unsweetened beverages, in particular Japanese tea, will continue to expand in the U.S. in the future.
This has led us to develop new versions of our “Iyemon” tea for the overseas market. These premium, 100% green tea beverages will be marketed in the San Francisco Bay area under the name “Iyemon Cha.” We have concluded a marketing contract with Nestle Waters North America, a U.S. subsidiary of Nestle, the world’s largest beverage manufacturer, and will be directly involved in marketing activities while making use of Nestle’s broad sales network.
Our aim is to nurture Iyemon as a global brand as we offer to the world the sumptuous flavor, pleasure and ease of a rich lifestyle that has been nurtured through the medium of tea.

*¹ [Nestle Waters North America]

▼ Name: Nestle Waters North America

▼ Head office: 777 W. Putnam Ave. Greenwich, CT 06830, United States

▼ Representative (CEO): Kim Jeffery

▼ Type of business: Manufacture, import and sale of bottled water

▼ Main products: Acqua Panna, S. Pellegrino, Perrier, Contrex, Arrowhead, etc.

- Details -

▼ Name / Volume / Packaging IYEMON CHA Original Green Tea
IYEMON CHA Roasted Green Tea
24 x 361 ml bottles

▼ Recommended retail price $2.75

▼ Launch date (Mon) May 19, 2008

▼ Retail area San Francisco Bay area