The Yamazaki Baking Company, Ltd. (山崎製パン株式会社, Yamazaki Seipan kabushiki gaisha) is a Japanese food company and the world's largest bread-baking corporation,[2] that makes bread, bakery products and confectionery.[3] It was established by Tojuro Iijima in Japan on 9 March 1948 and started mass production of bread in 1955,[4] and is still controlled by the Iijima family; Nobuhiro Iijima is the third generation of the family to lead the company.

Yamazaki Baking Co., Ltd.
Native name
山崎製パン株式会社
Yamazaki Seipan kabushiki gaisha
Company typePublic (Kabushiki gaisha)
TYO: 2212
OSE: 2212
IndustryFood
Founded21 June 1948; 76 years ago (1948-06-21)
Ichikawa, Chiba
FounderTojuro Iijima
HeadquartersIwamotochō, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8585, Japan
Number of locations
107,950 stores
Area served
Asia, Europe, North America
Key people
Nobuhiro Iijima
(President)
Products
ServicesConvenience stores
RevenueIncrease JPY 995.01 billion (FY 2013)
(US$ 9.66 billion) (FY 2013)
Increase JPY 12.04 billion (FY 2013)
US$116.8 million million) (FY 2013)
OwnerIijima family (around 14.38%)
Nisshin Seifun Group (5.08%)
Oriental Land Company (0.19%)
Number of employees
17,654 (consolidated, as of 31 December 2014)
WebsiteOfficial website
Footnotes / references
[1]

History

edit

Yamazaki products can be found in various Asian countries, including Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and China(including Hong Kong).

In October 1970, the company established a joint venture, Yamazaki Nabisco Co., Ltd. (now known as Yamazaki Biscuits), with Nabisco of the United States and Nichimen Jitsugyo Corporation (currently Sojitz Corporation). By 1988 Yamazaki raised its stake in the joint venture to 80% by acquiring the shares held by Nabisco.[5]

In 1991, Yamazaki purchased Vie de France Bakery division (began in 1971), and in 1994, Yamazaki Baking purchased the Vie de France Restaurant division (began in 1978).[6][7] Yamazaki now operates Vie de France in the United States[8] and Japan[9] under the Vie de France brand.[10]

Until 2014, Yamazaki used potassium bromate in their bread, while all other Japanese baking companies voluntarily stopped using it in 1980 due to suspicions of carcinogenicity.[11] However, they started to use it again in early 2020, claiming they had developed a new method for reducing the amount of potassium bromate so that nothing remains of it in the final product. They stated potassium bromate was not detected in a test with 0.5ppb accuracy.[12]

In 2016, Yamazaki acquired the US company Bakewise Brands, parent of Fleischer's Bagels and Tom Cat Bakery.[13][14] In the same year, Mondelez International terminated the Yamazaki Nabisco joint venture and started to produce Nabisco biscuits under Mondelez Japan, shifting production to China and Indonesia.[15][16][17] A year later, Yamazaki introduced their version of Oreo called "Noir", which is produced at the former Oreo factory in Ibaraki Prefecture.[18]

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Company Profile". Yamazaki Baking. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  2. ^ John Paul Rathbone (22 November 2010). "Latin America: no longer the man with a moustache and a guitar". Financial Times. Pearson PLC. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  3. ^ Stuart D. B. Picken (2009). The A to Z of Japanese Business. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 316. ISBN 978-08108-6872-4.
  4. ^ Kazuo Usui (2014). Marketing and Consumption in Modern Japan. Routledge. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-415-32313-0.
  5. ^ Business Japan. Vol. 19 (1-6 ed.). Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun. 1974.
  6. ^ "会社概要." Vie de France. Retrieved on 18 May 2009.
  7. ^ "About Us – Vie De France". Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  8. ^ "Vie de France { Retail }". viedefrance.com. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  9. ^ "VIE DE FRANCE - Official Homepage". viedefrance.co.jp. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  10. ^ Jonna Crispens (1 April 1991). "Japanese manufacturer plans to buy Vie de France division". Supermarket News. ISSN 0039-5803.
  11. ^ "Japan's Yamazaki Baking to use potassium bromate in bread". Asia Pulse News.
  12. ^ "山崎製パン | 小麦粉改良剤「臭素酸カリウム」による角型食パンの品質改良について". www.yamazakipan.co.jp. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  13. ^ "Yamazaki Baking buys bagel maker Bakewise Brands". Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  14. ^ "City Capital Advises Bakewise Brands in Sale to Yamazaki Baking Co., Ltd". City Capital Advisors. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  15. ^ "「ヤマザキナビスコ」、ライセンス契約終了で社名変更へ 「オレオ」「リッツ」など製造終了". ITmedia NEWS (in Japanese). Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  16. ^ "モンデリーズ・ジャパン、2016年9月から「オレオ」、「リッツ」、「プレミアム」の国内販売開始". Mondelez International (in Japanese). Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  17. ^ "Taste the beginning of the end for Japanese Ritz: Wasabi & Cheddar / Tarako & Cream Cheese". Sora News 24. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  18. ^ Baseel, Casey (1 December 2017). "Japan's new imitation Oreos are here, but how do they compare to the made-in-China real deal?". Sora News 24. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
edit