Masahiko Shimoda, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board of Directors, Sanwa Shurui Co., Ltd.

Bringing Iichiko to all generations and the world through experiences

Chairman of the Board of Directors, Sanwa Shurui Co., Ltd., Doctor of Engineering　下田雅彦(Masahiko Shimoda)

■ Profile

Born in Oita Prefecture in 1955. After graduating from the Department of Fermentation Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Osaka University, he worked for a sake maker in Hyogo Prefecture. In 1984, he returned to his hometown and joined Sanwa Shurui Co., Ltd. He earned a PhD in Engineering from Osaka University in 1998 while working as a specialist engineer in shochu manufacturing technology development, product development, and quality control. After becoming a director in 1999, he became the first president from outside the owner family in 2017. He will be appointed chairman of the board of directors in 2023.

Sanwa Shurui Co., Ltd. produces and sells the authentic barley shochu "Iichiko," affectionately known as the "Napoleon of Downtown." Iichiko, which was released in 1979, has been a best-seller for over 40 years. We spoke to Chairman and CEO Masahiko Shimoda about the secrets to its long-lasting popularity and its timeless business development.

■Continuing to work on fermentation and the path to becoming the representative

When I was little, my father loved alcohol, so alcohol was a very familiar presence to me. That led me to become interested in the fermentation process required for sake brewing. I entered the Faculty of Engineering at Osaka University, which was the only national university in the Kansai region at the time where fermentation could be studied. Fermentation science is extremely versatile, being necessary not only for sake brewing but also for the process of making soy sauce and other seasonings, so I focused on research, including its future potential.
When I graduated, I received many offers from industries that required fermentation technology, such as sake makers, and I ended up joining a sake maker in Nada, where I began researching the fermentation technology and yeast needed for fermentation in research laboratories.
Later, at the age of 27, I married someone I had been dating since high school, and she was from Oita Prefecture, just like me. I was thinking about returning to Oita for her sake, when I received an offer for a technical position from Sanwa Shurui, which had been selling Iichiko for four years, so I returned to my hometown and changed jobs.
After joining Sanwa Shurui, I continued working as a researcher while also aiming to obtain a doctorate. One reason was to improve the fermentation of sake, but I was also instructed to do so by my immediate superior (laughs).
I became a director in 1999, served as president in 2017, and was appointed chairman of the board in October 2023. I feel like I've been lucky. However, I think a major factor in getting to this point was the perspective of "selection," which is necessary for fermentation research. There are billions of yeast strains necessary for fermentation, and it's impossible to know which strains are the best. Perhaps it was because I had the "experience and knowledge to select" the best strains from among the billions.

■ Making Iichiko a casual and familiar presence

Sanwa Shurui's main business is the production and sale of Iichiko barley shochu, which accounts for approximately 95% of the company's operations. As Sanwa Shurui is a company formed by the merger of four breweries, it not only has a wide variety of shochu raw liquor, but also holds numerous liquor manufacturing licenses. One of its strengths is its ability to produce a variety of alcoholic beverages, including wine, sake, and spirits (distilled alcohol), all under one company. The company also ferments and produces a compound called GABA from the residual liquid left over from the distillation of shochu, and supplies the raw material to food manufacturers and other businesses.
The majority of Iichiko's customers are in their 60s and 70s, and many of them have been drinking it since it was first released. However, as they get older, some of them start to drink less alcohol. That's why, for the past 10 years, we've been targeting people in their 30s and 40s in our product promotions. Some of these people don't like shochu or have never tried it, so we offer Iichiko as a shochu highball, made by mixing it with soda, or with tea, and we also sell it as a canned RTD, allowing people to experience barley shochu casually.
In addition, by setting up a stall at the Fuji Rock Festival for about six years, we have been able to provide an experience not only to people in their 30s and 40s, but also to people in their 20s who have just started drinking alcohol, and to overseas customers. The number of drinks served has increased with each stall, and this year we reached about 9000 drinks over the four days. In addition, on the websitekoji noteHe also runs an information site about koji and fermentation, and suggests ways to drink Iichiko on Instagram. Because shochu tends to be perceived as being for an older demographic, he collaborates with familiar things like music to make shochu seem more familiar.

■ Making Iichiko a sake that can be proud of around the world

Currently, we are developing a business targeting people in their 30s and 40s, but eventually we would like to make this a drink that we can be proud of around the world.
I think so. When I joined the company, my boss, Chairman Wada (in 1991), said, "I want Iichiko to become a global drink." That's what inspired me to start. We've actually collaborated with an American bartender to create a product for bars called "iichiko Saiten" and in Japan, [TUMUGIWe are also developing a shochu-based spirits product called "."
We also have a particular focus on the packaging, with the bottle design being handled by art director Kawakita Hideya, but since it is still alcohol, we would like to continue creating attractive products using the wide variety of raw alcohol that Sanwa Shurui is proud of, so that the design does not get outdone.

■Be honest, positive, and humble

As we expand our business, I would like to work with honest and positive people. As I mentioned earlier, we are developing new businesses both domestically and internationally, so I would be happy to work with people who are positive and not afraid to take on new challenges.
Also, the company's motto is "Okagesamade," which expresses gratitude and humility, so I think people who are able to show gratitude to others are a good fit for the company culture.

■ There are many different paths to success

I think many university students today have carefully planned their futures. However, life doesn't always go the way you want it to. There are many different routes to achieving your goals and succeeding, so when you hit a wall, I hope you'll be flexible and use a variety of methods to overcome it.
I also want you to ruminate on your own successful experiences and use them to build your confidence. It's rare to find someone who praises you for your successes. So I want you to repeatedly imagine your successful experiences, transform them into strengths, and use them to achieve self-actualization.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on December 5, 2023 by Ryusei Nishiyama, a fourth-year student at Musashino University