Kikkoman Celebrates 50th Anniversary in U.S. Market
by J.K. YamamotoKikkoman Corp. celebrated its 50th anniversary in the U.S. with a series of events in San Francisco, including a June 4 press conference at City Hall featuring the company’s chairman and CEO, Yuzaburo Mogi. The event’s emcee, Doug McConnel, host of KRON-TV’s “Bay Area Backroads,” noted that Mogi is a descendant of the family that founded Kikkoman more than three centuries ago. “Today Kikkoman is a diversified food manufacturer of the world’s leading brand of shoyu, soy sauce, and remains true to its tradition, including the time-honored natural brewing and aging process that gives Kikkoman soy sauce its distinctive flavor,” said McConnel.
Kikkoman established its first U.S. sales and marketing office in San Francisco in 1957. Around that same time, Mogi attended Columbia University. Four years later, he become the first Japanese national to receive an MBA from that institution. “During summer breaks from Columbia, Mr. Mogi received a real-world American education, showcasing and sampling Kikkoman soy sauce in supermarkets all across the county,” McConnel said, adding that even then Mogi knew that “it was just a matter of time before Kikkoman soy sauce would find its place in the American pantry.” Mogi serviced in several different positions within the company and became president in 1995 and chairman and CEO in 2004. He has also served as a vice president of Keizai Doyukai (Japanese Association of Corporate Executives), a trustee of Columbia University, and honorary ambassador of the State of Wisconsin, where Kikkoman’s first U.S. production subsidiary was established.
Aaron Peskin, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, commented, “It’s rather remarkable to think of the legacy of this corporation that has existed longer than the United States, twice as long as the City and County of San Francisco, and has really been a pioneer corporation in the United States…a corporation that changed the way we eat.”
Peskin was also impressed by the fact that 31 million gallons of Kikkoman’ s soy sauce was “consumed by Americas from coast to coast” last year alone.
The choice of San Francisco as Kikkoman’s first U.S. office was “appropriate for many reasons,” Peskin said. One is the city’s “history of Japanese roots. As a matter of fact, we just celebrated the 100th anniversary of Japantown ….the oldest Japantown in the United States.”
He added that 1957 was also the year that San Francisco and Osaka started their sister-city relationship, which “continues to thrive to this day.”
Pekin presented Mogi with a “Kikkoman Day in the City and County of San Francisco” proclamation from Mayor Gavin Newsom.
Mogi also received a gift from Amory Sharpe, director of institutional partnerships for the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. In March, the museum hosted “A Taste of Asia,” a series of culinary events presented by Kikkoman with the participation of local Asian restaurants.
A Trip Back to 1957
Mogi, who delivered his remarks in English, reflected on what America was like when Kikkoman began its full-scale entry into the U.S. market. He noted that 1957 “was a year when President Eisenhower was in the White House. It was a year filled with various milestones. The Soviet Union launched its Sputnik satellite. The Boeing 707 jet airliner made its maiden flight. And Elvis Presley starred in the film ‘Jail House Rock.’….
“To say that a lot has changed over these 50 years would be an understatement. When we first started doing business in America soy sauce was a exotic condiment found only in Japanese and Chinese restaurants.”
But the company anticipated that Americas’ taste would change and that “home cooking and restaurant cooking were both on the verge of discovery of new worlds of flavor and adventure,” Mogi said.
“We knew that Americans would love our naturally brewed soy sauce as an all-purpose flavor enhancer, just the same as we do. So we set out to share the secret of soy sauce and to show people in America how to use soy sauce. We began by producing simple recipes designed to demonstrate how Kikkoman can make any dish taste even better.”
The product gradually gained acceptance and “can now be found everywhere in the United States,” Mogi said, adding that the teriyaki sauce developed for the U.S. market has become popular as well.
The company has plants in Walworth, Wis., opened in 1973, and in Folsom, opened in October 1998, plus sales offices throughout the country.
“Because of our success here in the U.S., we have been able to expand our business globally,” Mogi said. “It all began right here when San Francisco opened its Golden Gate with a warm welcome. We are truly grateful to San Francisco and we look forward to sharing a place at the table with you for many years to come.”
The press conference was followed by a tasting event in which typical food items from 1957 were presented side-by side with the latest dishes from Sean O’Brien, executive chef of Myth Restaurant in San Francisco.
The two menus showed how much tastes have changed, at least in the Bay Area:
1957
Cheese balls with chopped nuts
Jell-O salad
Shrimp with cocktail sauce
Egg rolls with sweet and sour sauce
Chow mein
Fish sticks
Devil’s food cupcakes
2007
Citrus-glazed salmon with braised daikon and dashi
Sake and soy sauce braised pork belly
Fluke carpaccio with soy sauce, sesame oil and hijiki
Shrimp poke with soy sauce, shiso and kukui nut
Goma-ae spinach salad
Dango, rice dumplings with sweet soy sauce
The 50th anniversary was celebrated with other events, including a U.S. – Japan food distribution symposium held June 5 at the Hotel Nikko and 100 Japanese wholesalers and retailers as well as 100 U.S. wholesalers, retailers and food service operators.
The symposium was followed by a gala dinner hosted by Mogi at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. Various local dignitaries, and the entertainment was provided by legendary singer Tony Bennett.
Kikkoman’s U.S. Product Timeline
1957: Soy Sauce
1961: Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce
1974: Seasoning Mixes
1978: Sweet and Sour Sauce, Steak Sauce, Tonkatsu Sauce
1984: Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce, Teriyaki Baste and Glaze
1986: Stir-Fry Sauce
1990: Reduced Sodium Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce
1992: Teriyaki Base and Glaze with Honey and Pineapple
1972: Roasted Garlic Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce
1998: Quick and Easy Marinades
2001: Sushi and Sashimi Soy Sauce, Ponzu Sauce
2003: Pearl Soymilk, Restaurant Series Sauce
2005: Tamari Soy Sauce, Orange Soy Sauce, Panko Bread Crumbs
2006: Teriyaki Takumi Collection
The Meaning of Kikkoman’
The company provides the following explanation: “In Japanese, ‘kikko’ means tortoise shell and ‘man’ means 10 thousand. In Japan, the tortoise is a traditional symbol of steady progress and longevity since, according to Japanese folklore, the animal is believed to live as long as ten thousand years. The centuries-old Kikkoman trademark is a hexagon representing the tortoise shell, with the character for ten thousand in the middle – a fitting symbol for one of the world’s oldest food brands.”
-Reprinted from the June 17, 2007 edition of Hokubei Mainichi News-