Photo= Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd. has decided to increase production of sparkling refined sake following market expansion (Takara Shuzo Matsudo Factory, Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture)

The demand for sparkling refined sake is growing. Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd. is putting a ¥2.5 billion growth investment initiative into action, which will include their Fushimi factory in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City. After three years, sales will be raised to three times the current total of \8 billion yen.

The company introduced a sparkling sake called "Mio" to the market in 2011, its first venture into the sparkling refined sake sector. The new way to savor refined sake was well received, and sales for 2013 were ¥2.4 billion yen, four times those of the previous year. In 2013, distribution routes were also expanded among mass retailers, but it did not catch up with the level of demand due to a continuing shortage of supply, so the company decided to increase production.

Within the year, production tank capacity at Kobe City's Shirakabegura distillery in Higashi Nada Ward will be increased, and a bottle-stopper line in the Fushimi factory will also be installed as part of a plan to address supply shortages, with expectations being that with the market expanding, it is desirable to nurture Mio as one of the key products.

Attributes such as low alcohol content make sparkling refined sake popular with women in their 20s and 30s. It is also gaining support among those who do not usually drink sake.

Meanwhile, the sparkling refined sake "Zipang," naturally carbonated via yeast fermentation and created by Gekkeikan Sake Co., Ltd. in Kyoto's Fushimi Ward, is doing well overseas, with exports growing to more than three times their original level.

This February, Kizakura Co., Ltd., also in Fushimi Ward, began marketing five different lightly carbonated drinks such as "STARS." They announced: "Sales have risen since last summer along with the expansion of the market. We want people to enjoy the taste they prefer."