Tetsuya Takahashi, President and CEO, Smadori Co., Ltd.

Enjoy your drink in your own way and have the "perfect start" to your alcoholic beverage.

Tetsuya Takahashi, President and CEO of Smadori Co., Ltd.

■ Profile
After joining Asahi Breweries, he worked in sales and sales planning before joining the marketing department in 2009, where he was in charge of beer, chu-hi (a type of Japanese alcoholic beverage), and non-alcoholic products. Currently, as the head of the Smart Drinking Marketing Department, he is promoting "Smart Drinking," and also serves as the representative director and president of Smart Drinking Co., Ltd., a joint venture between Asahi Breweries and Dentsu Digital.

SUMADORI Co., Ltd. is a joint venture between Asahi Beer and Dentsu Digital. "SUMADORI Meets" opened in Omotesando in April. While actually experiencing cocktails there, we interviewed CEO Tetsuya Takahashi about the origins of SUMADORI. What came through the interview was his passionate desire to "make drinking occasions enjoyable for both those who can and cannot drink."

In high school, I was a member of the rowing club. I considered continuing in college, but I wanted to broaden my experiences even further, so I joined a volunteer club. We did activities such as field trips and overnight camps with local elementary school students, but planning and executing activities that the children would enjoy was quite challenging. For part-time jobs, I worked in the food service industry and as a private tutor. At the time, I worked as a waiter at a beer hall, so perhaps that experience led me to where I am today. When I was job hunting, I focused on "what I like and what I enjoy." This is still my consistent philosophy today, and since I particularly like alcohol, I pretty much decided on Asahi Beer and applied there.

■Experience at Asahi Beer, and the Smart Driving that emerged from it

After joining Asahi Breweries, I spent 4-5 years in sales. Following that, I gained experience in support roles such as data analysis and document creation to back up sales, and also worked in sales planning, developing the company's overall sales strategy. Since 2009, I have been in the marketing department, where I have worked on Asahi Breweries' main products, including chu-hi, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages. Currently, I serve as the head of the Smartori Marketing Department, which handles non-alcoholic beverages, and also as the president of Smartori Co., Ltd., a company established as an extension of that work.
"SmaDori" is an abbreviation for "Smart Drinking," a concept advocated by Asahi Breweries since 2020. In order to spread this culture to more people, Asahi Breweries and Dentsu Digital established SmaDori Co., Ltd. as a joint venture in 2022.
This company was founded on the idea that "we need to understand people who don't drink."
We at Asahi Beer only know the people who drink our products. Up until now, our research has focused primarily on those who drink. Dentsu Digital's strengths lie in their ability to communicate and their social media presence. We at Asahi Beer have the strength to develop products. We believe that by combining these strengths, we can create something even better.
The main focus of SUMADORI Inc. as a whole is strengthening its experiential store concept, SUMADORI Meets. SUMADORI Meets aims to create an experiential space where people can enjoy alcoholic beverages and take home good memories. The key differentiating factor is that it offers an experiential space, not just a place to eat and drink.
When I founded Smadori Inc. in 2022, the first thing I did was create a Smadori bar in Shibuya. Creating anything is difficult in itself, but creating a bar for "non-drinkers" rather than drinkers was a constant struggle. With the help of Dentsu Digital's research and communication capabilities, I think we were able to create a bar that I'm happy with.

■ Don't let your first alcoholic experience become a traumatic one.

We are also focusing on collaborations with university students and government agencies. In particular, since the target audience for "SmaDori" is people in their 20s, we are mainly working on how to introduce alcohol to university students, young people, and those who don't drink, as an entry point into the world of alcohol.
When you become a university student, turn 20, and try drinking alcohol for the first time, if you're suddenly taken to a bar and end up drinking more than your personal limit and collapsing, you'll only be left with unpleasant memories. The desire to eliminate such negative experiences is at the core of this company. Everyone drinks alcohol differently. Some people can drink a lot, some get red after just one drink, and some can't drink at all. The core of SUMADORI Meets is that you can find your own way of drinking and enjoying yourself here. I'm sure some of you have had the experience of going out drinking and not knowing your own limits, ending up quite drunk. Before that happens, you can try drinks with a low alcohol content, such as 0.5%. Since you can choose the alcohol content yourself, I believe that if you come here, find your own way of drinking, and realize, "Ah, this is how I can enjoy myself," you won't come to dislike drinking culture.
Ultimately, this company's mission is to create a new culture called "SmaDori" within Japanese society. Currently, awareness of "SmaDori" is 50%. I think it's a good first step that about half of the people who didn't know the word "SmaDori" three years ago now know it. From here, we want to increase awareness even further, including among other generations.

■What's important when working together is the "ability to enjoy yourself."

Personally, I think it's better to have a cheerful and positive attitude when it comes to work. There are many kinds of positivity and cheerfulness, but rather than just being boisterous, I prefer someone who can maintain a calm and logical side, and who can enjoy what they're doing even when faced with difficulties. It's important to be able to change your perspective and find enjoyment in things you might dislike. When you do that, you can approach your work positively, and I think that will ultimately lead to success.
During your university years, I believe it's important to honestly dive into things that interest you and that you find fascinating. There will inevitably be times when things don't go well. However, instead of giving up there, I hope you'll view failures as "weapons to take the next step" or "steps to the next level." When you enter society, you'll meet many people with different values, and things won't always go as planned, but those who can use difficulties as fuel and keep moving forward without turning back will surely grow significantly.

Interview with Risa Ukita, a second-year student at Tokyo Woman's Christian University, published on December 20, 2026 by Student Newspaper Online

Chiharu Yamada, 2nd year student at the University of Information Management and Innovation / Kisei Ishii, 2nd year student at Musashino Art University / Reina Inomoto, 1st year student at Kyoto University of the Arts / Risa Ukita, 3rd year student at Tokyo Woman's Christian University