Sake World has launched a new service called "Sake World Sake Brewery Investment." This is a unique service that allows you to support the sake industry by simply purchasing the "Sake World" trademark, which has been reduced to 1 yen per share. We will explain the aim and purpose of this service.

What are the challenges facing the sake industry?

We at Sake World have been planning and running sake events for over 10 years, but it wasn't until 2023 that we started to fully enter the sake business.

As of 2023, the domestic sake market was shrinking, but when we look at the global market, the sake market is expanding and export volumes are also increasing. Therefore, we thought that since the global market is growing, the sake industry should grow even more in line with the increase in global demand, so we have operated the sake media "Sake World" to raise awareness of sake both domestically and internationally, and the sake NFT marketplace "Sake World NFT" where people overseas can purchase and distribute sake.

However, what we learned while working on the sake business was that in order to develop the domestic sake industry, efforts to stimulate demand, such as disseminating information and strengthening sales channels, were not enough.

It became clear that it was necessary to address the issues facing sake breweries that supply sake, particularly the issue of "financing for sake breweries."

Why is fundraising a problem for sake breweries?

To make sake, you naturally need manufacturing facilities.

In order to meet the needs of today's tastes and to take on new challenges in sake brewing, such as sparkling sake or kimoto brewing, capital investment is required, which can be quite large.

However, due to a decline in domestic demand, companies have been struggling for many years, and are unable to make new capital investments with their own funds. In many cases, they have applied for loans from financial institutions only to be turned down.

One way to raise funds is through investment from investors, but many small and medium-sized sake breweries are subject to reduced liquor tax rates, and there is concern that if capital is increased through investment, the reduced tax rate will no longer be applicable and liquor tax will increase. In addition, for sake breweries that have been family-run, it is difficult to accept investment from outside.

As such, even if sake breweries want to try new ways of making sake, they currently have limited options for raising funds to cover the costs of equipment, etc.

As a result, no matter how much overseas markets expand and opportunities increase, there are still financial hurdles for sake breweries to brew new sake, and domestic breweries remain in an environment where they are struggling to keep up with the growing demand.

Therefore, we have launched a new service called "Sake World Sake Brewery Investment" to enable sake breweries to raise funds from sake fans and the general public as they take on new challenges in sake brewing.

How Sake World Brewery Investment Works

"Sake World Sake Brewery Investment" allows breweries to acquire development funds for new products by selling the trademark rights used by them in small lots. Users can purchase the trademark rights used by breweries for a small amount of money, and over the long term, they can receive dividends (royalties from the use of the trademark rights) according to the volume of products shipped from the brewery.

This system has the advantage for sake breweries in that they can raise funds while maintaining their management rights, and for users, it is the advantage that they can invest in specific products (brands) and receive dividends according to the shipping volume of those products (not influenced by the management situation of the sake brewery).In addition, users can enjoy other benefits such as priority purchase of rare sake and the right to use trademark logos.

First service launch

In the first phase of this service, we will sell the trademark "Sake World" used by "Sake World Makinokura" (hereinafter "Makinokura"), a sake brewery that was grouped with our company's sake business "Sake World" in November 1, in small lots for 2024 yen (tax included) per lot. The outline of the system is as follows.

"Makino Kura is the first release"

In the end, they will be raising funds for their own sake brewery!
What is this development of the sake "industry"?

You may be thinking, "What is this?", but Makinokura produces custom-made sake that is a blend of multiple sakes (which we call "sake").Custom-made sakeIt is a unique sake brewery that produces sake called "Makino Brewery." Since a wide variety of sake is required for blending, we use sake from cooperative breweries. Therefore, as the shipping volume of Makino Brewery increases, the amount of sake used for blending will also increase.This will inevitably lead to an increase in shipments from other breweries that provide raw sake.In other words, the growth of Makinokura does not just mean the growth of one sake brewery, but also leads to development within the sake industry as a whole.

Will custom-made sake save the industry?

The custom-made sake produced at Makinokura is unique in that it can be blended with multiple types of sake to be precisely tailored to suit the cuisine, flavors, occasions, and individual preferences of countries around the world.

Sake World's custom-made sake project began in 2022 with the cooperation of three Kyoto-based sake breweries: Masuda Tokubei Shoten, Kitagawa Honke, and Matsui Sake Brewery.

This is how the custom-made sake "Assemblage Club" was born. The first product was paired with Wagyu beef and won a gold medal at the Singapore Sake Challenge in 2023. Since then, the custom-made sake has won numerous awards, mainly at overseas competitions.

Currently, "Assemblage Club" is being served at many hotels and restaurants both in Japan and overseas, and also accepts orders from restaurants to provide custom-made sake exclusively for that store. Furthermore, in January 2025, "My Sake World" will open, where customers can experience making their own blended sake, providing custom-made sake blended to suit each individual's tastes.

Custom-made sake like this is currently spreading rapidly due to the benefits it offers, such as the ability to fine-tune the flavor and provide original products.

This custom-made sake has the potential to become a catalyst for the development of the sake industry.

The raw sake blended to create custom-made sake is not only produced by Makino Brewery, but is also delivered by each brewery that supports the "Custom-made Sake" project. In other words, the more custom-made sake we ship, the more breweries will be able to ship us raw sake.

As of February 2025, 2 sake breweries have agreed to participate in the blending, and we plan to continue to increase the number of breweries willing to cooperate.

Participating breweries: Fujii Sake Brewery / Hiroshima, Ishizuchi Sake Brewery / Ehime, Saito Sake Brewery / Kyoto, Ikeda Sake Brewery / Kyoto, Takanoi Sake Brewery / Niigata, Matsui Sake Brewery / Kyoto, Niida Honke / Fukushima, Tsuchida Sake Brewery / Gunma, Masuda Tokubei Shoten / Kyoto, Kitagawa Honke / Kyoto, Tamanohikari Sake Brewery / Kyoto, Kinshi Masamune / Kyoto, etc.

If shipments of custom-made sake increase, the demand for raw sake from our partner breweries will also increase, which could have a major impact on the entire sake industry. Let's work together with Makinokura, who produces custom-made sake, to help shape the future of sake.

Aiming to provide financing infrastructure for sake breweries

In December 2024, "traditional sake brewing," including sake, was registered as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. This has led to increased attention on sake around the world, and it is expected that demand for sake will further increase.

By creating and supplying a variety of sake, not just the custom-made sake that we are challenging ourselves with, sake will be able to further develop globally.

To achieve this, a fundraising system is necessary so that sake breweries can take on the challenge of making a variety of sake. We ask for your support so that we can turn the "Sake World Brewery Investment" service into a fundraising infrastructure for the entire sake industry.

■Sales site and white paper
Sales site:https://invest.sakeworld.jp/to-sakefan
White Paper:http://invest.sakeworld.jp/contact
(Please request materials from the inquiry page.)

■ Inquiries about this matter
Leaf Publications Inc. Yamashina Office
〒607-8067 Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Yamashina Ward, Otowa Maeda-cho 43 Yamashina Urban Cottage 1F
Mail: customer@mail-sakeworld.jp

Sake World Sake Brewery TrademarkBUY