R&D

Suntory Tennensui mineral water is originally a blessing from nature, and by definition something that can be enjoyed safely and with peace of mind. Our aim in developing the Suntory Tennensui brand is maximize the wonderful benefits of this mineral water and offer high-added-value products to consumers by combining rigorously selected natural ingredients to create new products that will provide great tastes and emotional fulfillment. Natural ingredients have a variety of complex tastes and flavors. By carefully bringing out those tastes and flavors, we can create extremely enjoyable products. However, because these ingredients are natural, it is also extremely difficult to control their compositional consistency. That is the most challenging aspect of our development work. In our R&D activities in Japan, we combine development knowledge accumulated over many years, and our endless commitment to originality and innovation, with science and technology, to create unique new products for the Suntory Tennensui range, such as Asa-zumi Orange & Tennensui, Yogurina & Tennensui, PREMIUM MORNING TEA Lemon, and PREMIUM MORNING TEA Milk.
In addition to our efforts to create delicious tastes and flavors, our formula designs are also based on detailed research concerning the mechanisms of the human body. Our aim is to understand why human beings like certain tastes and flavors and want to drink beverages with those. I believe that what we have learned from our R&D work in these areas will increasingly be used in R&D activities throughout the entire SBF Group. Every year, the R&D staff in Japan absorbs new knowledge by exploring consumer trends in other countries. We share that knowledge with our colleagues in overseas SBF Group companies.
We will continue to respond to consumer demands worldwide for natural and healthy products by creating new beverages to be enjoyed by people.

SBF Europe's concept of MayTea was in part a response to the general downtrend in the sale of sweet drinks, but also an effort to provide what customers were looking for and could not find on the market. The MayTea infusions are authentic, refreshing and natural, with a short ingredient list and no artificial flavorings, colors, or preservatives, and are also very low in sugar.
SBF Japan's R&D helped the local team throughout the developmental process, especially in the area of tea infusion technology, by offering advice on key points like water quality. In addition to flavor adjustments to the French consumers' taste, the R&D teams faced the issue of the product's cloudiness, as particles from the infusion would settle at the bottom of the bottle. Solving that issue was one of the greatest challenges they overcame.
While SBF Europe's R&D received a productive boost from working with Japan R&D, the product remained local consumer oriented. Essentially, SBF gives local companies control of how they want to use the technological platforms that have been developed. For example, one of the first two flavors that the local team developed was a green tea and mint infusion. This was created specifically to offer an appealing flavor to a large number of French customers familiar with Moroccan and North African tea culture.
MayTea's sales results seem to be solid evidence for the effectiveness of that management style. In two years' time, MayTea became the second highest-selling product in the French bottled iced tea market, creating the new category of infused tea, and tripling its sales numbers in three years. After its debut in France, the brand went on sale in Belgium and Spain, with plans to expand in other European countries in the future.

With temperatures hovering at tropical levels all year round, it is perhaps unsurprising that the Indonesian beverage market is made up of nearly 50% bottled water. In order to offer something new to those looking to quench their thirst, Suntory Garuda developed goodmood, a clear, fruit infused water. With the product's release in the spring of 2017, the company became a pioneer in the fruit infused water category in Indonesia.
Starting with the same core technology as the SBF Japan's R&D team, but adapting and recreating the recipe to fit a new market and the local Indonesian palate became a chance for unique product development. Indonesian consumers have reacted positively to the concept of infused water, which looks healthy and has an appealing natural taste.
We consulted SBF Japan's R&D department on challenges like creating natural fruit taste, while also learning about the benefits of osmotic pressure for hydration. The R&D teams faced some challenges but succeeded in capturing the right level of sweetness and acidic citrus taste that Indonesian consumers preferred. The recipe also had to be adjusted to be suitable for the Halal standards of the market. Suntory Garuda launched two flavors: honey lemon and orange. Because Indonesian consumers love sweet citrus, we added honey to the lemon, and chose a sweet orange taste profile.
While the size of the Indonesian beverage market is still small, SBF sees it as a future growth area. Our R&D team is already considering other ways in which they can benefit from SBF's water and hydration know-how to create more innovative and attractive products for their consumers.

After seeing consistent decreased sales of juice drinks as many consumers cut back on their sugar intake, Frucor Suntory decided to explore a completely new product area: kombucha. The fizzy, fermented, non-alcohol tea beverage is one recently trending alternative to sugary beverages. Kombucha's wide range of potential health benefits and a reliance on natural ingredients also made it a good fit for the SBF Group portfolio.
When Frucor Suntory was looking into developing kombucha, there were already local brewers selling their own versions. The small size of these brewers, however, meant there was often a fluctuation in the flavour and quality of the finished drink. Frucor Suntory wanted to create a product that could provide both consistent quality and a less acidic taste for consumers.
The Frucor Suntory R&D team continually finessed the recipe over the course of development to get it just the way they wanted. Kombucha requires fermentation for many days, which is very different to the other products the company manufactures. Currently, the R&D team is interested in deepening their understanding of the SCOBY, the symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, which creates the distinctive taste of kombucha. They will call on the technical assistance of SBF Japan's R&D for the necessary scientific analysis.
The kombucha, under the brand name Amplify, is certainly one of the more adventurous products that an SBF Group company has released in the past couple of years. Three flavours of Amplify went on sale in Australia in January 2018, and in New Zealand in April 2018. Though it is too early to say whether this will be the start of a strong new segment, there does seem to be a groundswell of interest. By successfully bringing Amplify to market, Frucor Suntory's R&D department has also gained the insight needed to potentially assist other SBF Group R&D teams who may be interested in producing kombucha in the future.