brandZ | Suntory

Suntory

Parent Company: Suntory Holdings Ltd

Brand value: $2,218 million

Headquarter city: Osaka

Industry: Beverages

Year formed: 1929

Known as Japan's leading producer of liquors and beverages, Suntory is a major beverage company that sells Western liquor, wine, beer, coffee, tea, supplements and soft drinks – including the brand’s bestselling, namesake whiskey varieties. In 1899, Shinjiro Torii founded Torii Shoten in Osaka City for the purpose of producing and selling wine. In 1929, he named Japan’s first authentic whiskey “Suntory.” Beer followed in the 1960s, and in the 1990s the company pursued its goal of being Japan’s leading food and beverage company by launching a variety of soft drink products. In the 2000s a series of acquisitions and mergers — of the Frucor Group, Orangina Schweppes Group, and Jim Beam, among others – made Suntory the world’s third-largest premium spirits company and a major beverage player in Japan and worldwide. Much of Suntory’s branding focuses on the tradition of craft and quality in its historic home of Yamazaki, with a special emphasis on Yamazaki’s pristine waters. The brand is also a major cultural patron, sponsoring the Suntory Concert Hall, the Suntory Museum of Art, and the Suntory Museum. Its subsidiary, Suntory Beverage & Food Limited, is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.