Featured in SHOCHU NEXT! https://shochu-next.com/article/14298
Text : Sawako Akune(SHOCHU NEXT)
Bacchus Global (hereafter referred to as Bacchus), based in Thailand, is an importer that handles a wide variety of alcoholic beverages from around the world, with a focus on Japanese alcohol. With Japanese managing director Hara Koji serving as president, the company has a particular expertise in Japanese alcoholic beverages. It is said that nearly 80% of the shochu distributed in Thailand is wholesaled from Hara’s Bacchus. In addition, Bacchus operates restaurants in Bangkok, including the cafe and bar “Fruitea Japanese Style Cafe & Liqueur Bar” and the bar “Salon du Japonisant,” as well as the liquor store “NADAYA.” It also has its own channel for selling alcoholic beverages sourced from various countries, and Hara is undoubtedly one of the people who is most familiar with the trends in alcoholic beverages in Thailand.
On the other hand, Nakayama Daiki, editor-in-chief of “SHOCHU NEXT,” runs an export trading company for Japanese alcoholic beverages, including shochu, and also does business with Bacchus. We interviewed Nakayama about the current state of the alcoholic beverage scene in Thailand and what he looks for in shochu as a local importer.
Delivering Japanese alcohol to the Thai market
Shochu Next Editor-in-Chief Nakayama Daiki: First of all, could you tell us how you founded Bacchus Global in Thailand?
Bacchus Global CEO Hara Koji: I lived in Thailand in the early 2000s as a resident in my previous job. I happened to like wine for a long time and had obtained a sommelier qualification, so I was interested in alcohol, and I felt that the selection of alcohol in the restaurants and bars in Thailand at that time was lacking. On the other hand, I also felt that this country would continue to grow. So after my stay ended and I retired, I returned to Thailand in 2004 and started a wine bar. After that, I was hit by the Lehman Shock and returned to Japan once, but I returned to Thailand again and after a period of preparation, I founded Bacchus Global in 2010. The Thai economy was starting to improve, so I thought that even if I opened a small restaurant or bar again, it would be swallowed up by the big companies, which is what prompted me to start wholesale. At first, we mainly wholesaled Italian wine to Japanese restaurants, but there was a lot of competition for wine. We received requests for Japanese alcohol because we’re Japanese, so we started stocking shochu and sake. As we did this, Thai people started to like sake, and we also started selling whiskey and plum wine, so we started getting inquiries from local restaurants.
Nakayama: So is Bacchus now wholesaleing alcohol to the local Thai market, rather than the local Japanese market?
Hara: Yes, I’d say 70 to 80 percent of our sales are to local customers.
A generational change in the drinking demographic in Thailand
Nakayama: So, will our purchasing standards be adapted to the tastes of the local people?
Hara: Yes, we currently run a liquor store and a restaurant, so we often hear the real opinions of our customers there. It may sound cliché, but “when in Rome, do as the Romans do” (laughs), and even if something tastes good to me as a Japanese person, I still care a lot about how Thai people feel about it. I listen to the voice of the market, and I don’t just go right to the center, but I try to judge the tastes about five years from now. The Thai economy is doing well, so there are a considerable number of suppliers and importers in the country. In order to maintain our presence there, I think we need to predict the tastes that will grow in the future and have the mindset of creating trends ourselves.
Nakayama: Has the drinking scene in Thailand changed in the 20 years since you started working in Thailand?
Hara: It has changed quite a bit. First of all, the drinking demographic has clearly changed to a different generation. The working generation of 40-50 year olds who first tried foreign alcoholic beverages in the early 2000s have retired, and now their children are on the rise. The majority of shochu drinkers in Thailand today are young people like this. Some of them are the children of wealthy families, and many of them have been educated abroad. These people spend a lot of money on luxury items, including alcohol. There is a diversity of values, and they will drink anything as long as it’s delicious, and they’re not afraid of new things.
Nakayama: In the past, most shochu exports from Japan were destined for Japanese markets overseas, such as local Japanese restaurants and Japanese supermarkets. But today’s brewers are no longer satisfied with that, and are beginning to realize that they need to target the local market in each country. In this environment, the existence of a company like Bacchus, which has a strong local presence, is very encouraging.
Hara: I think the attitude of our importing industry in Thailand is also changing, albeit slowly. In the past, food wholesale was the main focus, and the majority of companies would simply purchase famous national brands of alcohol as an added bonus and the products would be sold automatically without any marketing. But in the last 10 to 20 years, there has been an increase in importers who sell their own carefully selected products to their own customers.
What kind of shochu is needed in Thailand today?
Nakayama: Is Bacchus’s handling of shochu and sake growing?
Hara: Thanks to you, both are growing. Thanks to Nakayama’s introductions, we currently handle breweries such as Kokubu Shuzo, Hamada Shuzo, Nakamura Shuzojo, and Shirogane Shuzo in Kagoshima Prefecture, Matsuro Shuzo in Miyazaki Prefecture, Rokuchoshi Shuzo and Toyonaga Shuzo in Kumamoto Prefecture, and Ebisu Shuzo in Fukuoka Prefecture.
Nakayama: While it is easy to sell because we handle a large number of breweries and brands, don’t you ever have products that don’t sell well? This is a dilemma that I face as an export trading company, so I would like to ask you: how do you solve such problems?
Hara: Well, that is a very difficult question. After all, you are attached to the sake you choose. However, it is difficult if it doesn’t sell, and there are times when you have to cut it from a business perspective. But even so, you keep the things that you truly think are delicious.
Nakayama: That’s how Bacchus tries to keep the brands they handle moving. No matter what country you’re dealing with, you can export once, but then it goes dormant, and that’s what worries many brewers. Once you’ve entered into a buying and selling relationship with one importer, you’re tied down by the rules of that country, and it’s hard to make contracts with other companies.
Hara: Actually, after visiting and talking to breweries in Japan, I think that they all make very good products. Each sake is a “craft” that is made with skill and passion, and they treat it with care, as if they were raising their own children. I really want to give the proper spotlight to these sakes that they make with care.
Nakayama: In Japan, there are voices saying that it must be “authentic shochu” and not spirits or liqueurs, and the measures taken to deal with color regulations vary from brewery to brewery, but when it comes to exports, I personally think that it’s better not to worry too much about that. What do you think, Hara?
Hara: Yes, that’s true, all of these circumstances are within Japan, so to be honest, it doesn’t matter to us who sell shochu overseas. However, I don’t really understand why, as a measure to comply with light regulations, the color of shochu that has aged and turned amber is removed, which also removes the umami components… I think it’s definitely better for each brewery to produce the flavor they think is delicious.
What can be done to promote shochu overseas
Nakayama: People who know nothing about shochu will drink anything that tastes good. What kind of efforts are you making to deliver shochu to this demographic?
Hara: Well, I guess it would be to make it the base for cocktails and be able to say that it uses shochu.
Nakayama: So, is there anything you would like Japan to do to expand the reach of shochu in Thailand?
Hara: One thing would be to create a shochu pop-up in Ginza or somewhere similar for inbound tourists. There, they could learn about shochu and drink a little. When they go back to their home countries and want to drink that alcohol, we will be there (laughs).
I also want brewers to place importance on label design. Until recently, shochu labels were all about ink writing, but if that’s all there is, it’s hard to understand (laughs). I think it’s essential that the label has an explanation in English and is well designed with young consumers in mind. The number of Japanese businessmen stationed overseas, who were once our target audience, is steadily decreasing, and they are no longer as wealthy as they once were. Comparatively speaking, local people are now able to spend much more money on alcohol.
So I think it would be better to send a message to them. It’s easier for us to sell products that have added value, such as being aged or fragrant, even if they are expensive.
The market for distilled spirits is definitely growing. I want them to be aware of this and compete with a shochu that has individuality. I’m sure they will be able to create a product that will sell well overseas.