Suntory Holdings Limited (サントリーホールディングス株式会社) is a Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company. Established in 1899, it is one of the oldest companies in the distribution of Western-style alcoholic beverages in Japan and one of the largest drinks companies in the world following its acquisition of Beam, Inc. in 2014.[5][6]
Suntory produces a number of well-known alcohol and soft drink brands, including Jim Beam, Lucozade, Orangina, Maker's Mark, Ribena, and a range of Japanese whiskies.[6] The company is headquartered in Osaka and employs 40,000 people globally.[6]
History
Suntory was founded by Shinjirō Torii, (鳥井 信治郎) who first opened his store, Torii Shōten (鳥井商店) (lit. "Torii store"), in Osaka on February 1, 1899, to sell imported wines. In 1907, the shop began selling a fortified wine called Akadama port wine (Akadama literally meaning "red ball", a byname for the sun). The store became the Kotobukiya company in 1921 to further expand its business and in 1923, Torii built Japan's first malt whisky distillery Yamazaki Distillery.
Although shortages during World War II forced Kotobukiya to halt new product development, the company successfully re-released Torys Whisky in 1946, which sold well in post-war Japan. In 1961, Kotobukiya launched the "Drink Torys and Go to Hawaii" campaign. At the time, a trip abroad was considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In 1963, Kotobukiya changed its name to "Suntory", taken from the name of the whisky it produces, which itself was derived from the English "sun" (referencing Akadama) + Tory, the anglicized version of Torii's name. In the late 2000s, Suntory was widely reported to have revived domestic demand for blended whisky by promoting the whisky highball as an everyday, meal-compatible drink, supported by standardized "highball" dispensing practices and dedicated on-premise promotion.[7][8]
On April 1, 2009, Suntory transitioned into a stockholding company named Suntory Holdings Limited, (サントリーホールディングス株式会社) establishing several new entities: Suntory Beverage and Food Limited, (サントリー食品株式会社) Suntory Products Limited, (サントリープロダクツ株式会社) Suntory Wellness Limited, (サントリーウェルネス株式会社) Suntory Liquors Limited, (サントリー酒類株式会社) Suntory Beer & Spirits Limited, (サントリービア&スピリッツ株式会社) Suntory Wine International Limited, (サントリーワインインターナショナル株式会社) and Suntory Business Expert Limited. (サントリービジネスエキスパート株式会社)[9]
On July 14, 2009, Kirin announced merger negotiations with Suntory;[10] however, the two companies terminated these discussions on February 8, 2010.[11] That same year, Suntory acquired Orangina-Schweppes, owner of the Orangina soft drink, for 300 billion yen, and Frucor energy drinks for 600 million euros.[12]
On July 2, 2013, the company's beverage and food division debuted on the Tokyo stock exchange raising almost US$4 billion in the process.[13] In September 2013, Suntory purchased the drinks division of GlaxoSmithKline, a deal that included the brands Lucozade and Ribena, though not Horlicks.[14]
In January 2014, Suntory announced an agreement to buy the largest U.S. bourbon producer, Beam Inc. (producers of Jim Beam) for US$16 billion.[15] This deal would make Suntory the world's third largest spirits maker.[16] The acquisition was completed in April 2014, and the new subsidiary was renamed Beam Suntory.[17][18]
In December 2016, Beam Suntory acquired the gin maker Sipsmith.[19] A year later, Suntory and PepsiCo formed a joint venture in Thailand.[20]
In 2018, Suntory sold most of Cerebos Pacific's assets, including Australian and New Zealand food business, to Kraft Heinz for A$290 million.[21][22] This transaction excluded Cerebos Pacific's health supplements and fresh coffee business, which were later integrated into Suntory Beverage & Food Asia Pte. Ltd. and Suntory Coffee Australia, respectively.[21]
In recent leadership changes, in March 2023, Makiko Ono became the first woman to be appointed CEO of Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd.[23] In May 2024, Beam Suntory was rebranded as Suntory Global Spirits including the launch of a new website and visual identity.[24]
Nobuhiro Torii, great-grandson of founder Shinjirō Torii, was appointed as president of Suntory Holdings beginning March 2025, with incumbent president Takeshi Niinami appointed as its chairman.[25] However, in September 2025, Takeshi Niinami resigned as the company's chairman following an investigation into the purchase of possibly illegal supplements.[26][27]
Subsidiaries
- Château Lagrange S.A.S
- Florigene Pty Ltd
- Gold Knoll Ltd
- Grupo Restaurante Suntory Mexico
- Morrison Bowmore Distillers, Limited
- Orangina[28]
- Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC
- Suntory Beverage & Food Asia Pte. Ltd.
- Suntory Global Spirits
- Suntory Oceania
- Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage Co., Ltd (joint venture with PepsiCo)
- Subway Japan
Joint ventures
Beginning in the early 1990s, Suntory collaborated with Melbourne biotechnology firm Florigene to genetically engineer a true blue rose, a symbol often associated with the impossible or unattainable.[29] While Florigene had been a subsidiary of the agrochemicals company Nufarm since 1999, Suntory acquired a 98.5% equity stake in the firm in 2003. By 2004, Suntory and Florigene scientists announced the development of the first roses containing blue pigment.[30] Since then, they have produced a range of genetically modified flowers expressing colors in the blue spectrum, as well as other desirable traits such as an extended vase life for cut flowers.[31]
In July 2011, Suntory Beverage and Food Limited formed a joint venture with PT GarudaFood in Indonesia to produce non-alcoholic beverages such as Suntory Oolong Tea, Boss, and Orangina. Suntory maintains a majority 51% stake in the venture.[32]
Brands
Suntory beverage brands include:[34]
- Soft drinks: Bikkle, Boss Coffee, C.C. Lemon, Calcium and Iron Beverage, Gini, Green DAKARA, Iyemon, Lucozade, MayTea, Mizone, Nature's Twist, Nope, Oasis, Okky, Iced Oolong Tea, Orangina, Ribena, Schweppes, TEA+, Tennensui, V, Pepsi Special
- Beer: All-Free, Kin-Mugi, The Premium Malt's
- Gin: Larios, Sipsmith, Roku
- Liqueur:
Media and advertising
- Suntory was one of the first East Asian companies to specifically employ American celebrities to market their product. One of the most notable is Sammy Davis Jr., who appeared in a series of Suntory commercials in the early 1970s. In the late 1970s, Akira Kurosawa directed a series of commercials featuring American celebrities on the set of his film Kagemusha. One of these featured Francis Ford Coppola (an executive producer of the film), which later inspired his daughter Sofia Coppola in her writing of Lost in Translation, a film which focuses on an American actor (played by Bill Murray) filming a Suntory commercial in Tokyo for the Hibiki whisky.[35]
- Suntory operates two museums, the Suntory Museum of Art in Tokyo and the Suntory Museum Tempozan in Osaka, in addition to a number of cultural and social programs across Japan.
- In the 1970s, Suntory engaged the US pop group the Carpenters to advertise its new line of soft drinks.
- Suntory is a former sponsor of the professional match play golf tournament, played annually at Wentworth Club, near London.
- In 2023 for Suntory's 100th year anniversary, and 20 years after the appearance of Lost in Translation, director Sofia Coppola was asked to direct the company's anniversary tribute video starring
See also
- Suntory Mermaid II – wave powered catamaran
- Suntory Sunbirds
- Suntory Sungoliath rugby team – champions of the 2007-08 Top League (fifth season)
External links
References
- Financial Statement retrieved November 4, 2025^
- Summary of Consolidated Financial Results for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2025. Suntory Holdings Limited, 2025-08-08, retrieved 2025-11-02^
- James Simms. Whisky Giant Suntory Holdings, Owner Of Jim Beam, Outlines Plans To Expand More Outside As Japan's Population And Domestic Imbibing Decline