Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
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www.beveragedynamics.com January/February 2015 • Beverage Dynamics 33 Japanese Imports as conduct consumer tastings." TY KU has supported its education program through POS items, social media marketing, and even sake educational classes to help retailers understand the category better. But it's tasting and pairing sessions that help the company educate consumers. "A majority of consumers have encountered sake at Japanese restaurants," Cuvelier says. "They tend to associate it with a bev- erage that pairs only with sushi, but actually sake is a better pairing beverage than white wine for many foods since it contains a high amount of amino acids." SakeOne also created an online course geared toward distributor sales representatives to educate them on the sake category. "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 so- cial media pages." PROCESS AND PACKAGING Unlike 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 experience of working in food and beverage for Brooklyn Brewery and Bel- vedere 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 ad- justs them for the American market, keeping the design but re- placing the Japanese lettering with descriptions of the product and manufacturing process in English. 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, educated, 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." 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 passion- ate 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 communicated to retailers and consumers." — Carlos Arana, Co-founder and CEO, Hiro Sake "Sake drinkers are generally experimental and cross over beverage 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 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