Kosaku Shima sponsorships, supplements for salarymen

Kosaku Shima is the new face for Suntory’s The Premium Malt’s beer. The attractive, ever-youthful Mr. Shima is not a movie star, rather he is the protagonist from the immensely popular manga “Shima Kosaku.”

Often considered the “businessman’s bible,” the manga series by Kenshi Hirokane has followed the trials of the charmed Shima from the bubble-era through the recession and into the present day. Since debuting in 1983, the hero has made his way up the ladder in the fictional Hatsushiba Electric Company, always managing somehow to come out on top of every situation.

While the story is obviously an idealized portrayal of Japanese corporate life, the details are based in real life, which accounts for a lot of the manga’s popularity. It is no surprise then that Shima would drink Premium Malts, the beer of choice served at most high class night spots.

Lest you question Shima’s cultural importance, it should be noted that when he was finally named president of the company earlier this spring, Japan’s largest newspaper, the Yomiuri, ran an article on the subject as if it were a real news story.

Meanwhile, Takara Tomy Wellness has announced plans for what might be the most clever niche supplement yet: Shima Kosaku-themed supplements intended for the ubiquitous salaryman.

Available in three varieties, designed for specific situations (receiving and entertaining clients, business negotiations, and extreme pressure) the campaign hints not so subtly that these supplements will bring out the inner Shima in the ordinary businessman. Each packet also contains one of 30 “business cards” with a printed QR code leading to additional mobile web contents.

The Shima Kosaku supplement series, available from June 23, is the first product to be released by Takara Tomy Wellness, a supplement and nutrition product subsidiary of the toy maker giant formed in December of 2007.

Tags: beer, manga, nutrition, QR Codes, Shima Kosaku, Suntory, supplements, Takara Tomy
Category: Marketing & Ad Trends
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Flavagenol, the latest beauty fix from Suntory

Is there life after collagen? With collagen showing up in just about everything these days, promising prolonged youthful beauty, we’re on the look out for the next big thing. Set to debut on April 22, Suntory has a new beauty supplement made from flavangenol, a pine bark extract that promises to fight free radicals, improve circulation, and reduce dark pigmentation.

Each capsule includes 40mg of France-harvested flavangenol plus ceramide, firethorn berries (an ancient Chinese beauty secret), rose extract, and vitamin C. A month’s supply (at three doses a day) costs an impressive ¥5,460. The product is a result of research from Suntory’s Flavangenol Research Laboratory.

Tags: beauty, Flavagenol, health, Suntory
Category: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends
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Famous Ginza shop creates flavors for Suntory drink line

Suntory’s line of Ginza premium cocktail beverages takes the local product trend to the extreme, referencing not just a region or a city but a specific Tokyo neighborhood. One that has a well-defined image of course: Ginza is Tokyo’s most upscale nightlife district, and the association gives the packaged, convenience store drink, an element of luxury.

As it turns out, the high-class neighborhood is lending its expertise in addition to its name. The flavors are created in collaboration with Ginza Sembikiya, a famous purveyor of premium fruit and fruit jellies (of the $100 melon variety).

While this line of cocktails have been around for a couple of years, Suntory plans to release a sparkling variety in muscat and peach flavors later this month and a guava flavor this summer.

At only ¥209 a can this is by far the closest most mortals will get to purchasing something from the 114 year old shop.

Tags: beverages, Ginza, Suntory
Category: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends
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No sugar beer from Kirin and Suntory

With the debut of Kirin’s Zero this week and Suntory’s Zero Nama (draft) scheduled for the first week of March, the diet beer market has reached a new competitive peak, just in time to shed some of that post-Valentine’s Day chocolate weight.

The “zero” in both names refers to zero sugar, which is big news for beer-guzzling would-be dieters. Both also come in close to nil in the calorie department, Kirin Zero with 67 calories for a standard 350ml can and Suntory Zero Nama with 81 calories. Though it should be noted that both of these are happoshus, and thus not technically beer.

Sapporo, meanwhile, has a 50% reduced calorie actual beer planned for release on February 27, which weighs in at 119 calories and 4.6g sugar. Sapporo already has a low calorie happoshu, Sapporo Slims, which has 74k calories and 1.4-3.15g sugar (no, we’re not sure why it varies).

Magazine Tokyo Walker gave readers a sneak peak at the new beers and rated them in terms of “refreshing-ness” and “bitterness,” with Suntory Zero Nama coming out on top with 4 (out of 5) stars for refreshing-ness and 3 for bitterness.

Tags: beer, beverages, FMCG, health, Kirin, Metabo, Sapporo, Suntory
Category: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Marketing & Ad Trends
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Suntory whisky meets Lotte chocolate

The latest product in the continuing trend of beverage company mash-up products is this Single Malt Whisky Chocolate produced by Suntory in collaboration with confectioner Lotte.

Each bite-size chunk of these premium Lotte semi-bitter chocolates contains a liquid-y center of Suntory’s Yamazaki 12-year whiskey. Suntory, Japan’s oldest distiller, is the brand that Bill Murray’s character promotes in the movie “Lost in Translation.”

The product release coincides nicely with the Valentine’s Day chocolate rush, though if mixing chocolate with something as decidedly masculine as whiskey seems an odd move for Valentine’s Day, keep in mind that in Japan women are supposed to give men chocolate on February 14th. The gift is reciprocated a month later, on the oddly termed White Day, a Japanese holiday of mysterious origin where men give women chocolate (or any suitably romantic gifts) on March 14th.

Tags: Confections, Lotte, Suntory, Valentine's Day
Category: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Marketing & Ad Trends
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