Beverage giant Asahi will introduce a new RTD green tea blended to appeal to a new generation of Japan’s tea consumers. Set to launch on April 4, Asahi Sou is an innovative, unsweetened bottled green tea that uses slightly withered tea leaves that impart a fragrant taste.
The word “sou” or 颯 means a sudden gust of wind. Asahi Soft Drink Sales Co hopes that it translates into sales of 60 million bottles this year.
The company surveyed 12,000 people over two years to discover that Japanese consumers have shifted their preference in green tea from a slightly bitter taste toward “high aroma and crisp flavor.” Older generations describe bitterness and astringency as a refreshing, cleansing quality. Younger tea drinkers do not.
Asahi commissioned a high-ranking tea master, Yasuyuki Suda, to create what it calls a “tea that meets the needs of the times.” He developed a process based on the traditional ichō method whereby the leaves are left to wilt naturally and oxidize slightly, yielding a flowerlike scent.
Asahi projects sales of five million cases during 2023. The company forecast that this year its sales of non-alcohol beverages will grow by 3.6% in volume due mainly to the growth of carbonated drinks and tea. The tea will be sold in PET bottles at ¥160 for 620 ml and ¥380 for 2 liters.
Yasuyuki Suda has achieved the distinction of 10th Dan, a term used in Japanese traditional arts to denote a level of expertise. Suda is the sixth-generation owner of Higashi Genbei, a tea shop in Kyoto’s Uji district, founded 180 years ago. Tenth Dan designates a tea master of highest rank.
Asahi, known abroad for its beer, owns Mitsuya, a traditional steamed tea brand that dates to 1884, and Wonda, an RTD tea launched in 1991. Wonda’s product range includes black, green, and oolong teas, bottled coffee, and fruit blends.
With an annual turnover of ¥2.5 trillion, Asahi Group Holdings owns Asahi Beverages, Japan’s largest brewer, which earned ¥1.3 trillion ($9.8 billion) during the fiscal year ending January. Its bellwether brand is Asahi Super Dry, a lager brewed with rice.
Japanese consumers drink more bottled tea than all carbonated beverages combined. According to the Food Marketing Research Institute, green tea accounts for 15% of sales volume, but the market has matured, and the growth rate remains flat. In contrast, SRI+ Intage (Nationwide Retail Store Panel) estimates Japan’s sugar-free tea market has grown 16% in the past five years, from ¥58.5 billion in 2018 to ¥68 billion in 2022.
According to the International Tea Committee, Japan is the eighth-largest tea-consuming country in the world. Tea, including RTD, is one of Japan’s significant exports in the food & beverage category. Leading brands include Kirin, Suntory, and Ito En. In 2021 the export value of Japanese tea reached more than 20 billion yen ($152 million), doubling since 2015. The top export destination is the U.S., accounting for half the total.