The terms on a sake label are defined by the Japanese tax laws and include mandatory as well as optional elements:

• Mandatory elements on sake labels are ingredients, production date, storage/serving hints, country of origin, producer name, producer address, container volume, sake indication, alcohol percentage, and underage drinking warnings.

• Among the optional sake label elements are various production-related terms like “Namazake” (unpasteurized sake), the region of origin, and the storage/aging period.

A new side of sake brewery tourism is sake brewing experiences, which are offered by a couple of sake breweries across the country:

• Obata Shuzo’s Gakkogura on Sado Island is a sustainable microbrewery that allows a small group of students to brew their own sake tank in the course of one week.

• In the mountainous region of Nagano, the Kurabito Stay is a two-nights three-days sake making experience, which will let you stay in a renovated guest house directly on-premise.

• Two sake breweries near Tokyo host small groups of sake enthusiasts in a compact one-night two-days sake making experience during the sake brewing season.

Japanese sake is still strongly marketed with cost-based pricing, as compared to distilled spirits where branding influences the price largely:

• The production costs of sake are closely related to the polishing ratio of the rice and the used sake rice. Over 70% of the ingredient cost are associated with sake rice. Some other factors like the pressing method or fermentation starter method play also a role in the sake production cost.

• A Junmai sake 720ml bottle can be purchased in Japan for around 1,000-2,000 yen. More expensive Junmai Daiginjo sells for over 5,000 yen in Japan.

• Exported sake in the USA is about 2 to 3 times the Japanese retail price. For example, a Kubota Manju Junmai Daiginjo goes over the counter in San Francisco for 59.98 USD per 720ml bottle.

Beyond the classical reselling of existing sake products, white or private label sake might be a viable option to consider going forward. One can expect higher profit margins when promoted correctly. It can be a cost-effective way of owning your sake brand and testing before eventually making higher investments.

Summary of the sake production statistics from 2019:

• In total over 1,168 sake breweries produced sake in Japan.

• Niigata has the most sake breweries (85 regional breweries).

• The total volume of produced sake was 340,496 kl (down 10.8% from the previous year).

• 148,832 kl (down 6.9% from the previous year) premium sake was brewed.

• Within the premium sake category, the share of Junmai sake (without the addition of distilled alcohol) is increasing.

Summary of the Japanese sake export statistics in 2020:

• The total exports of Japanese alcohol were 71,091 million JPY (CAGR 14.8 %) in 2020.

• The biggest categories are Japanese whiskey and sake.

• The Japanese sake exports almost tripled from 2010 to 2020 with an annual export value of 24,141 million JPY (CAGR 11%).

• The top 3 export markets for Japanese sake are Hong Kong, China, and the USA (per value).

• In 2020 the average export value per liter exceeded for the first time 1000 JPY with an average of 1109 JPY per liter exported Japanese sake.