Nihonichi Shoyu, known for crafting soy sauce in traditional wooden barrels since 1787, is entering the Asia Pacific market with a unique range of soy sauce, dressing, and seasoning powders.
Its first stop will be Singapore, but the brand has its sights on other APAC markets, including Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand, where consumers are increasingly interested in heritage products with sustainable and authentic origins.
Recently launched flavours include yuzu and cheese, which are tailored to appeal to regional tastes and food trends in Asia.
“We think refreshing, fruity flavours and modern additions like cheese will do well in APAC markets,” said Koichiro Matsunaga, acting manager in Oka Naosaburo-Shoten Co Ltd, the company that owns the Nihonichi Shoyu brand.
Heritage meets modern tastes
Nihonichi Shoyu’s recent expansion strategy emphasises blending traditional Japanese flavours with seasonings inspired by contemporary tastes.
The yuzu and pepper dressing, for example, features the bright citrusy notes of yuzu alongside white pepper for a mild spiciness.
Its subtle, stimulating flavour appeals across generations, said Matsunaga, highlighting how the seasoning resonates with APAC consumers seeking flavours that balance novelty with cultural familiarity.
The cheese-flavoured soy sauce powder is another recent innovation that targets both the Japanese and export markets. It is an extension of the brand’s soy sauce seasoning powder that use soy sauce lees as a base.
Soy sauce lees are a byproduct of soy sauce fermentation. This method of repurposing lees not only adds flavour to the product, but also aligns with sustainable production practices, said Matsunaga.
Currently, the brand has a few flavours of the soy sauce seasoning powder, all of which contain several base spices like paprika, turmeric, onion, garlic, and nutmeg.
The cheese flavoured one contains blue cheese and camembert cheese imported from Denmark and can be sprinkled on fries or pasta.
The wasabi-flavoured one, on the other hand, has wasabi or horseradish powder, matcha, and other base spices. It is suitable for flavouring chicken or beef steak.
The product range is crafted with versatility in mind, which can complement the diverse culinary styles across APAC markets.
For example, Matsunaga believes the original flavour of the soy sauce seasoning powder will complement soft-boiled eggs, which are a breakfast staple served with kaya butter toast in Singapore and Malaysia.
Like the other flavoured powders in this series, it can also be sprinkled onto rice and meat.
To make this accessible for the masses, Matsunaga is targeting online shops and supermarkets – similar to what the brand has been doing in Japan. Each bottle of soy sauce seasoning is currently sold at 581 yen (USD 3.80) for around 80g in Japanese supermarkets.
Production challenges
As a soy sauce maker that uses traditional processing methods and organic soy beans within Japan, the company faces production limitations when there are surges in demand.
Because each batch of soy sauce requires at least one year of natural fermentation, it is a slower process compared to modern mass-produced soy sauces, which are typically manufactured in stainless steel tanks and takes only 6 months.
“We can only produce about 500 units of Tamari soy sauce per batch. Our Tamari soy sauce is one of the rarest in Japan. It is gluten free and therefore suitable for those with wheat allergies. Brewing this takes more than a year,” Matsunaga said, citing an order of 2,000 units that he had to decline.
The timing of an order matters too.
The workers only start fermenting a new batch of soy sauce when the volume is running low.
If an order comes in at the 10th month post production, most of the soy sauce would have been bottled and sold. However, if the order comes in right before a batch is done, it will most probably be met, explained Matsunaga.
Such limitations may affect expansion efforts, but the brand remains committed to this traditional brewing method, which is believed to yield a much richer umami flavour in the soy sauce.
“We’ve been brewing soy sauce in the same wooden barrels for 150 years. Only a handful of soy sauce brands – around 1% of us – still use this traditional method,” said Matsunaga.
This production process, while labour intensive and slower than modern methods, serves to reinforce the brand’s heritage and artisanal identity. It also aligns with the rising consumer demand for premium and handcrafted products that emphasise quality over quantity.
Health trends
In response to how the brand will address consumers’ concern of salt intake, Matsunaga said that the rich flavour of their seasonings requires only a small amount. Besides, consumers can adjust to taste.
The brand does not offer sodium-reduced versions because “they do not taste nice and require too much time and effort for traditional soy sauce producers”, said Matsunaga.
Traditional soy sauce contains around 15% salt, while salt reduced versions typically contains 9%.
Making a salt-reduced version cannot be done simply by adding less salt to the fermentation process, as this will affect the richness and flavour of the soy sauce.
To preserve as much umami flavour as possible, the salt can only be removed after the fermentation process is completed – but this is a process that traditional soy sauce brewers cannot do as they do not have the modern equipment to do so efficiently, Matsunaga explained.
