Soy sauce maker Kikkoman opens 3rd U.S. plant

Jefferson, Wisconsin witnessed the grand opening of Kikkoman's third U.S. plant on Friday. Yuzaburo Mogi, the honorary CEO of the Japanese soy sauce maker, announced plans to boost production to meet rising demand in North America. The new facility, set to generate approximately 4,000 kiloliters of soy sauce by March next year, began operations earlier and will commence product shipments in October.

Kikkoman, which established its first U.S. plant in Walworth, Wisconsin, in 1973, and a second plant in Folsom, California, in 1998, has been actively working to increase soy sauce and related seasoning products' popularity in the country. Currently, Kikkoman's products constitute roughly 60% of the U.S. market for household soy sauce items.

During the ceremony, Kikkoman President and CEO Shozaburo Nakano, along with Senior Executive Corporate Officer Osamu Mogi, joined the event alongside local representatives. Mogi expressed optimism about the market's growth potential, noting that the number of soy sauce consumers in the United States remains relatively low. He also hinted at the possibility of establishing a second European plant in the future.

Looking ahead, Kikkoman is exploring the production of teriyaki sauce and ponzu citrus-flavored sauce at the new plant. With the current subscription plan, readers can view the story but must create a display name in the Profile section of their subscriber account page to comment.