Eliminate quality control and traceability issues to protect your brand and minimize resale risks

 

STANDAGE Co., Ltd. (Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Akinori Adachi; hereinafter referred to as Standage), which develops and provides digital trade platforms, has become an official partner for the overseas export of Yamagata Sanka, a sake brand produced by the Yamagata Prefecture Sake Brewers Association. Yamagata Sanka is a sake brand produced by the Yamagata Prefecture Sake Brewers Association, and is a Junmai Daiginjo sake brewed by a team of the sake rice champion and sake brewery champion, who have achieved the top results in the prefecture every year. As of 2023, Yamagata Prefecture is the only prefecture that is working to create a unified brand under the leadership of the sake brewers association.
All export procedures will be handled by Standage, which functions as a trading company. In addition, by utilizing the cold chain (a door-to-door transport network using temperature-controlled air freight) that Standage established as a subsidized project by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, quality will be maintained and traceability will be guaranteed, minimizing the risk of brand damage.

 

Background and Outlook

Yamagata Sanka is a sake that symbolizes Yamagata Prefecture, which began brewing in 1985 and underwent a complete renewal in 2022.

Yamagata Sanko is sold throughout the country, but because it is a prized brand that carries the prefecture's flagship product, exporting it overseas had only just been considered due to the difficulty of quality control during long transport periods, the risk of resale, and the inability to manage traceability once it arrives in the local area.

 

Meanwhile, interest in Japanese food and sake from overseas is steadily increasing, with overseas exports of sake hitting new record highs for 12 consecutive years since 2010.

As a subsidized project by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Standage has been working to build a cold chain (a door-to-door transportation network using temperature-controlled air freight) since 2023, and is using this logistics network to export sake and Japanese products through the cross-border e-commerce site "YUKARI" to Europe and the United States.

By utilizing temperature-controlled air freight, it is now possible to deliver unpasteurized sake and other products to customers while maintaining their quality, something that was previously difficult to control using conventional container transport.

 

By utilizing this logistics network for exports of Yamagata Sanka, we can eliminate problems with quality control and traceability. In addition, by selling exclusively through Standage for overseas markets, with the exception of a few countries, we can minimize the risk of resale.

Sales are conducted through the cross-border e-commerce site "YUKARI" operated by Standage, and the sake is also exhibited at exhibitions and sales events, including local tastings, such as the "Salon du Sake" (held in Paris, France) in September 2011. The goal is to have 20% of production sold overseas by the end of fiscal year 2012, and the company will work to increase awareness of Yamagata Prefecture as a "sake producing region" and the Yamagata Sanko brand.

 

By providing full support for the overseas export of Yamagata Sanko as an official partner, Standage will contribute to the correct recognition and dissemination of Japanese culture and regional revitalization, as well as to the revitalization of Japan's trade market.

 

■About Yamagata Sanka

"Yamagata Sanka" is an original brand of Junmai Daiginjo sake that brings together the techniques of Yamagata Prefecture and the Prefecture Sake Brewers Association, aiming to be the best in Japan.

The ingredients for Yamagata Sanko include pure water nurtured by the prefecture's rich natural environment, as well as the finest "Yuki Megami" rice, a rice variety suitable for sake brewing developed in Yamagata Prefecture, which has been carefully selected in a sake contest. Only the best sake breweries selected that year are allowed to brew this exquisite sake, all of which is produced in Yamagata.

Yukimeji is a rice variety suitable for sake brewing developed by Yamagata Prefecture with the desire to produce world-class high-quality sake from Yamagata. The Yukimeji rice used for Yamagata Sanko is limited to the top-ranked rice in the sake rice contests held in the prefecture, and the polishing ratio is set at 35% or less.

Only a few companies that have won top marks in the prefectural sake tasting competition for their Junmai Daiginjo sake produced the previous year using Yukimeji rice with a polishing ratio of 40% or less are permitted to brew this sake.

The 2023 Yamagata Sanka was brewed using the "Yuki Megami" variety grown by Atsushi Onuma in Shinjo City, entrusted to Sakata Sake Brewery (Sakata City), Wada Sake Brewery (Kahoku Town), and Higashi no Roku Sake Brewery (Nanyo City).