StateWays is the only magazine exclusively covering the control state system within the beverage alcohol industry, with annual updates from liquor control commissions and alcohol control boards and yearly fiscal reporting from control jurisdictions
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StateWays ■ www.stateways.com ■ January/February 2015 34 "Because sake is not well-understood in the U.S., much of our marketing efforts are geared toward sake education," says CEO Steve Vuylsteke. "That includes our POS materials, website and social media pages." PROCESS AND PACKAGING U nlike with beer, wine and craft spirits, even the most educated consumers often don't know how sake is made. That lack of awareness has not been helped by product packaging, which often causes this information to literally get lost in translation (if it's translated at all). "When I founded Joto in 2005, I already had the experi- ence of working in food and beverage for Brooklyn Brew- ery and Belvedere Vodka, and I'd also studied Japanese in college," says Joto Sake president Henry Sidel. "I spent a lot of time researching and buying sake at retail because I wanted to create sakes with packaging that was accessible to consumers — something that was lacking at the time." Joto Sake takes the original Japanese labels on its sake and adjusts them for the American market, keeping the design but replacing the Japanese lettering with descrip- tions of the product and manufacturing process in Eng- lish. Sidel says he makes it a point to put the brand name and type of sake on the front of the label. "Our target consumer is a young, 21-35 year old, edu- cated, craft-oriented consumer who drinks craft beer and spirits and fi ne wine," Sidel says. "We've tried to make the packaging very truthful and demonstrate our passion for sake to the consumer, while also making it accessible to people who are new to the category." HOT AND COLD SAKE T here's no single answer to whether sake should be con- sumed hot, warm or cold – often it depends on the type of sake and individual consumer preferences. How- ever, one company is trying to make the serving tempera- ture question as simple as possible. "We have two types of sake, a Junmai called Hiro Red and a Junmai Ginjo called Hiro Blue," says Carlos Arana, Hiro Sake's co-founder and CEO. "We've found that most consumers drink chilled sake, so our Junmai has a blue LEADING BRANDS OF SAKE (Thousands of 9-Liter Cases) 12/13 Brand Supplier 2012 2013 % Chg Takara Sake Takara Sake USA 705 710 0.7% Gekkeikan Sake Sidney Frank 436 450 3.2% Numano Shoji Sake Numano Shoji Sake 370 380 2.7% Ozeki Sake Ozeki Sake USA Inc. 355 355 0.0% Fuki Sake Monsieur Henri Wine 35 40 14.3% Total Leading Sake Brands 1,901 1,935 1.8% Source: The Beverage Information & Insights Group. To learn more go to www.bevinfostore.com SAKE QUESTIONS ANSWERED Sake is often misunderstood by consumers, who aren't sure how to classify it, what to pair it with (other than traditional Japanese food), or how to drink it. These are what sake brand managers see as the most common mistaken assumptions about the sake category. "Many people think sake should be served hot, when in actu- ality most premium sakes should be served slightly chilled to experience the best fl avors and aromas. People also equate sake to having an alcohol content closer to that of a spirit, when in reality the average is between 15.5 and 16.5 percent. Some even have a lower ABV." — Yoshi Yumoto, vice president, Gekkeikan Sake "The percentage of the population who isn't willing to try sake is increasingly small, while the number of people who are passionate about the category is increasing. Nine times out of ten when I walk into a wine shop in almost any market, the retailers are interested in the category and they're reporting that customers are more interested – they all want to learn about sake." — Henry Sidel, president, Joto Sake "There's a movement in many places around lower calorie options, which should benefi t sake. Our sake doesn't have any additives, and it's gluten free. There's a lot of innovation and facts about the category that needs to be better communi- cated to retailers and consumers." — Carlos Arana, Co-founder and CEO, Hiro Sake "Sake drinkers are generally experimental and cross over bever- age alcohol categories. This is especially true with Millennials, who thrive on experimentation and authentic drinking experiences." — Steve Vuylsteke, CEO, SakeOne "Sake plays a role in boosting a food's "umami," which is considered the fi fth sense and contributes to the more savory elements in cuisine. This helps neutralize the unpleasant fl avors in seafood, as well as gamey fl avors in meats." — Guillaume Cuvelier, Vice Chairman, Davos Brands JAPANESE IMPORTS