TOKYO - Mercian Corporation (Mercian) has launched a consulting business for start-up wineries as a new initiative to promote the Japanese wine industry.
The consulting services are currently being provided to four wineries in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures in addition to supporting more wineries in the future with the aim of becoming a pipeline for the sustainable growth of the Japanese wine industry.
While wine market growth in Japan in some recent years has been sluggish, the Japanese wine market has grown overall by about 1.5 times from 2015 to 2021. 1 The number of wineries has also continued to increase, approximately 1.5 times in the last five years.
Per Japan's National Tax Administration Agency statistics reports.
On the other hand, many start-up wineries face challenges in terms of growing and winemaking techniques and quality, as the majority of wineries are low-profit and small, and there are limited places in Japan where one can statistically learn everything from viticulture to winemaking.
In order to help solve these and other issues related to the Japanese wine industry, Merican has started a consulting business for start-up wineries, leveraging the vast experience of its current and past human resources as well as 145 years of winemaking experience.
Specifically, Mercian will provide technical support for wine grape cultivation, winemaking, production, as well as a wide range of marketing and sales consulting services to help wineries meet their specific challenges.
The Kirin Group aims to be one of the world's leading CSV2 companies, focusing on solving social issues in health, community, and environment based on the premise of its responsibility as an alcoholic beverage manufacturer. As a part of the Kirin Group, Mercian aims to contribute to the development of a sustainable Japanese wine industry as well as revitalize and make the Japanese wine market more attractive by leveraging the human resources and intellectual property cultivated through its 145 years of Japanese winemaking.
Creating Shared Value: combined added value for consumers as well as for society at large.
About Kirin Holdings
Kirin Holdings Company, Limited is an international company that operates in the Food & Beverages domain (Food & Beverages businesses), Pharmaceuticals domain (Pharmaceuticals businesses), and Health Science domain (Health Science business), both in Japan and across the globe.
Kirin Holdings can trace its roots to Japan Brewery which was established in 1885. Japan Brewery became Kirin Brewery in 1907. Since then, the company expanded its business with fermentation and biotechnology as its core technologies, and entered the pharmaceutical business in the 1980s, all of which continue to be global growth centers. In 2007, Kirin Holdings was established as a pure holding company and is currently focusing on boosting its Health Science domain.
Under the Kirin Group Vision 2027 (KV 2027), a long-term management plan launched in 2019, the Kirin Group aims to become 'A global leader in CSV, creating value across our world of Food & Beverages to Pharmaceuticals.' Going forward, the Kirin Group will continue to leverage its strengths to create both social and economic value through its businesses, with the aim of achieving sustainable growth in corporate value.
KIRIN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED 
