Kikkoman and America’s kitchens for 50 years
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Compiled By Teri Mitchell  | Published July 2007

Soy sauce giant Kikkoman celebrated its 50th anniversary in America on June 4 at San Francisco’s City Hall. The No. 1 soy sauce manufacturer (by sales) in the United States is experiencing steady growth driven by its U.S. and international business.

After starting to produce soy sauce in Japan more than 300 years ago, Kikkoman entered the U.S. market in 1957 with its first sales and marketing office in San Francisco. Kikkoman products can be found in most Asian restaurants around the nation.

Yuzaburo Mogi, chairman and CEO of Kikkoman Corporation, acknowledged when the company first started doing business in America, soy sauce was an exotic condiment found only in Japanese and Chinese recipes. “But we knew that Americans would love our naturally-brewed soy sauce just the same as we do,” he said.

In 1961 the company introduced its successful Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce, a product developed specifically for American customers. Mogi said that when Kikkoman first dove into the U.S.

market, competitors La Choy and Chun King were the top two soy sauce manufacturers. “We became No. 2 in 1972 and No. 1 during the mid-1980s,” he said.

Of the two ways to make soy sauce, either by fermenting whole soybeans or hydrolyzed soy protein, Kikkoman stands out by making their product organically, Mogi said.