Revealing the Inside Story of the Great Battle to Become Japan’s Best-Selling Water

In the past, canned coffee was the absolute king of the soft drink industry. The next in line was always tea in PET bottles.

Today, however, Suntory Natural Water is the best-selling soft drink in Japan, ahead of the two leaders. Yes, it is mineral water.

According to a 2005 survey by the Beverage Research Institute, the top-selling beverage in Japan was the canned coffee Georgia, followed by Oi Ocha, Aquarius, and Coca-Cola, with mineral water not even in the top 10.

However, in the same survey in 2010, “Suntory Natural Water” ranked first, and Coca-Cola’s “Irohasu” was also ranked seventh. This is an unprecedented “natural water boom. Economic journalist Takai Naoyuki analyzes, “There are three main reasons.

One is that mineral water has taken root in various scenes. After the Great East Japan Earthquake, the number of municipalities that buy and stockpile water has increased. Some workplaces have changed the beverages they serve to visitors after the COVID-19 crisis. Coffee and tea brewed by employees are now bottled water to prevent infection.
The second reason is price. Although the price of water, like coffee and tea, has been rising, a 2-liter bottle costs in the low 100 yen range, and a case of water can be purchased for less than 100 yen per bottle through mail-order websites.
The third reason is the growing health consciousness. With the advent of the sugar-free boom, canned coffee and sports drinks have lost momentum, and more people are choosing to ‘buy and drink water.

The history of mineral water is surprisingly long. Japan’s first natural water for home use, “Rokko no Oishii Mizu” was launched in 1983. It was sold by House Foods, which developed it as a chaser for curry. The water was collected in Nada Ward, Kobe City. In 1889, Englishman John Clifford Wilkinson discovered a carbonic acid spring in the Rokko Mountains, which is the root of the carbonated water “Wilkinson,” which is still sold today. It was also in the Rokko Mountains.

Later, the business rights for “Rokko no Oishii Mizu” were transferred to Asahi Soft Drinks, and it is sold in western Japan as “Asahi Oishii Mizu Natural Water Rokko. However, in recent years, the original water extraction sites have been depleted, and the water is now being sold in condominiums. House Foods built a new Rokko factory in Nishi-ku, Kobe, which has now been taken over by Asahi Soft Drinks. As a result, “Asahi Oishii Mizu Natural Water Mt. Fuji” has been added to the new lineup for eastern Japan. Asahi Soft Drinks is able to produce mineral water in a stable manner because of its soft drink products such as Mitsuya Cider, and its parent company Asahi has expertise in handling water in beer production,” says food journalist Junnosuke Nagahama.

Asahi Soft Drinks took advantage of the health boom and was one of the first to launch “Asahi Oishii Mizu Natural Water Shiroyu” in 2010. People wondered, “Why would anyone bother to buy hot water?” However, the product has been selling explosively, especially among young women engaged in office work.

Three years after the launch of “Rokko no Oishii Water,” a black ship arrived. The French brand “Bolvic” (launched in 1986). Mr. Takahiro Ezawa, an expert on beverages, says, “Tadashi Tadashi, a famous French beverage expert, said, ‘Turn on the tap and you have Tadashi.

Consumers who used to wonder why they would pay for water they could drink for free when they could just turn on the tap accepted it because it was a foreign product. The following year, in 1987, “Evian” (Ito En), also from France, landed on the market. In ’93, a special holder was created, and young people began to think it was fashionable to wear Evian around their necks, creating a bit of a boom.” It became a popular accompaniment to outdoor sporting events and festivals, such as the opening of the J-League in 1993 and the start of the Fuji Rock Festival in ’97.'”

Black Ships, Champions, and Rising Stars

In 1994, Otsuka Foods purchased the U.S.-based “Crystal Geyser,” which helped fuel the boom in natural water produced overseas.

In 1991, Suntory, the king of the mineral water industry, entered the market, which was being pushed aside by foreign competitors.

Suntory has developed a wide range of beverages, including beer, tea, coffee, and whiskey, but at the root of all its products is its commitment to water. Our corporate message is ‘Live with Water. In line with this philosophy, Suntory has established a water science research institute and conducts environmental education for the next generation under the title of “mizuiku” (water education), among other activities to secure water resources and enhance its brand image.
These efforts have paid off, and the company has been able to gain the trust of consumers. Currently, Suntory has secured a total of four water sources in the Southern Alps, Northern Alps, Aso, and Oku Daisen. Since the raw materials for mineral water are natural resources, brand image and stable supply are the most important factors, not development competition that sparks competition among companies,” said Mr. Takai.

Around 2005, Suntory Natural Water overtook Rokko no Oishii Mizu to take the top spot in the industry. Since then, Suntory Natural Water has never relinquished its position, and currently reigns as the No. 1 soft drink in the entire industry.

In 2009, Coca-Cola launched “Irohasu,” a supernova that challenged the king in a one-on-one battle. Irohasu brought a new sense of value to the mineral water industry, where Evian and other brands were gaining popularity with the added value of being “foreign products,” and domestic competitors were differentiating themselves with water sources such as “Rokko” and “Mt.

Coca-Cola’s approach was ‘eco. People who go out of their way to buy and drink mineral water overlap with those who are highly conscious of environmental issues. To reach them, Coca-Cola squeezed and crushed a lightweight 12 g bottle in a commercial. The bottle can be easily reduced in size by ‘crumpling,’ so all of the senses of sight, sound, and touch can tell that it is less wasteful and more environmentally friendly. The cap is also green, the color of the eco image, instead of the usual blue, and the label is easy to peel off and half the normal size.’ In 2010, the company introduced the sugarcane-derived ‘Plant Bottle’ for the bottle, a thoroughgoing effort that quickly made the product as popular as Suntory Natural Water,” said Ezawa.

In fact, light and thin bottles already existed in the industry. Crystal Geyser is one example. However, its lightweight and thin package design had a “cheap” impression. The fact that Coca-Cola has replaced this with “eco-friendly” packaging is a testament to its marketing power, which is often called the strongest in the industry.

Is it the original brand with a history of more than 40 years since its launch, a black ship gaining market share around the world, a champion with four water sources, or a rising star riding the SDGs trend?

The passion of each manufacturer to become the “best-selling water” is unlikely to die out in the future.

From the April 19, 2024 issue of FRIDAY