Uchibori: The Sharpest Innovators in Vinegar Production

By Sasha Lauture and Sean McBride

Established in 1876 as a vinegar store, Uchibori Vinegar now produces an array of vinegars including rice, sushi and fruit varieties, using traditional Japanese brewing and fermentation techniques. Company President Taisaku Uchibori explains: “We specialize in vinegar making and its predecessor, sake making, and we are trying to focus on this strength with the ingredient koji yeast. This yeast produces pure, aromatic vinegar that surprises and delights our customers when they open a bottle.”

Catering to local tastes is important to the company; however, Mr. Uchibori highlights that what makes Uchibori Vinegar unique is its pursuit of creating unprecedented vinegars that will wow the world. Examples of this include rice vinegar made from junmai daiginjo sake, a brewing vinegar with extremely high acidity that achieves a pure, clear taste, and a new category of fruit vinegar—dessert vinegar that can be drunk. Uchibori Vinegar, which has manufactured hundreds of types of vinegar since its founding, offers products that have the potential to enrich the lifestyles of people not only in Japan but worldwide.

The company president explains the process for making dessert vinegar as follows: “First, we ferment fruit juices to make wine—for grapes, it is grape wine and for apples, it is cider. The wine is then processed into vinegar. Once the vinegar has matured, the fruit juice is added back in to make it smoother and easier to drink, and to add additional texture and flavor. Our uniqueness lies in our ability to process a wide variety of fruits into vinegar.” 

Uchibori Vinegar’s flagship products

Mr. Uchibori notes that the world of food is constantly evolving around the planet— including the way vinegar is used—and this is creating a space for new innovations and developments. The company believes that with its brewing technology it should be able to extract the best from these food innovations, leading to great potential not only in terms of vinegar usage, but also market creation. 

Uchibori Vinegar prides itself on the purity of its vinegar, a point it has been pursuing throughout its 40-year history of exporting products. By focusing on the production of high-quality, authentic vinegar, the company has been able to increase its customer base both domestically and internationally.

Uchibori Vinegar plans to expand its sales channels overseas by finding new international partners. As Mr. Uchibori points out, vinegar is a basic seasoning that is indispensable for many dishes around the globe, standing the company in good stead to increase its outreach to potential customers all over the world. When discussing markets with the most potential for growth, Mr. Uchibori believes the United States would be the primary target due to its large population and high purchasing power, as well as the growing consumer demand for good Japanese food and ingredients.