Ajinomoto history

In 1918 Ajinomoto exported 20.5 tons of its seasoning, accounting for a quarter of its total sales.

Established Oh-shima factory in Tokyo (closed in 1919).

Established Hamanaka factory in Hokkaido (closed in 1921).

In the United States, the seasoning, labeled by the FDA as a "Vegetable Protein Derivative", sold poorly on the consumer market, but Ajinomoto expanded their operations in the United States in 1931 due to mass orders of the seasoning by H.J. Heinz, Co. and Campbell Soup Co.

Established The Larrowe Suzuki Company in the United States (dissolved in 1936).

Opened Hong Kong sales office (closed in 1937).

Opened Singapore sales office (closed in 1938).

Opened New York purchasing and sales office (closed in 1941).

Opened Harbin (China) sales office (closed in 1942).

Opened Seoul sales office (closed in 1943).

Opened Shanghai sales office (closed in 1945).

In April 1946, the company changed its name to Ajinomoto Co., Ltd.

In 1947 production of the seasoning resumed, in addition to the production of new food products such as nucleic acid-based seasonings and processed foods.

In May 1949 Ajinomoto was listed on the Japanese stock exchange.

By 1950, exports accounted for 95% of the company's revenue, with exports to Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States increasing in subsequent years.

The company started advertising Ajinomoto on TV in 1954.

Although Ajinomoto has been manufacturing for the pharmaceutical industry since 1956, it has simultaneously broadened its food-processing operations.

Domestic production first began in Thailand in 1962, followed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Peru, Indonesia, and Brazil in subsequent years.

After 1965, the company applied its research to the development of new seasonings, soups, margarine, mayonnaise, frozen foods, and flavored edible oils.

In 1970 the company created Ajinomoto Frozen Foods and also began to collaborate with the NutraSweet Company of the United States that year.

In 1973 Ajinomoto and General Foods Inc. launched Ajinomoto General Foods Inc., a joint venture between the two companies that would sell instant coffee.

Launched Kellogg’s Corn Flakes in alliance with Kellogg Co.Established Ajinomoto-INSUD S.p.A. in Italy (dissolved in 1977).

In 1978, Ajinomoto launched a brand of Chinese seasonings under the brand name Cook Do.

A 1979 joint venture with Dannon introduced dairy products for the first time to the company's product line.

Pharmaceutical-product sales were ¥20 billion in 1980; United States medical institutions and pharmaceutical manufacturers purchased half of the company’s output.

Ajinomoto's new venture department was established in 1987 with a focus on new markets and cooperative producers in the life-sciences area.

In 1988 sales rose only 0.5 percent, but earnings grew 15.4 percent--due largely to the much higher margins the company earned on life-science products.

In 1989 Ajinomoto ventured further into the area of fine chemicals through the US$92.4 million acquisition of S.A. OmniChem N.V. of Belgium, a maker of intermediate chemical products for the pharmaceutical and food industries.

In 1990 Ajinomoto joined with the Calpis Food Industry Co., Ltd. in an agreement whereby beverages and dairy products manufactured and marketed by Calpis would be distributed by Ajinomoto.

In 1992 Ajinomoto joined with Calpis and the French food conglomerate Danone Group to form Calpis Ajinomoto Danone Co., Ltd., a Japanese-based marketer of chilled desserts, most of which were made from dairy products.

Ajinomoto later released JINO as a cosmetic and amino acid for athletes, followed by Amino Vital, a supplement to JINO released in 1995.

Their cooperation led to Archer Daniels Midland settling charges with the US Government in October 1996 for $100 million, a record antitrust fine at the time.

In early 1997 two Ajinomoto executives were indicted on charges of paying ¥6 million (US$47,500) to sokaiya gangsters.

Research conducted ten years ago is just now coming to fruition, and increased sales of its existing amino acids as well as new developments from current research give the company firm ground to stand on to make its ambitious ¥ 15 trillion sales projection for the year 2000.

In early 2001, Ajinomoto was involved in a scandal in majority-Muslim Indonesia when it emerged that a pork-based enzyme had been used in its production of MSG.

In April 2002 Ajinomoto reorganized itself into food, amino acid, and medicine divisions, and owned subsidiaries for frozen foods, fats, and oils.

In July 2003, Ajinomoto bought the French company Orsan from the UK-based Tate and Lyle Group, renaming Orsan to AJI-NO-MOTO Foods, Europe.

In November 2005, AJI-NO-MOTO Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. was liquidated, and its assets and functions were merged into AJI-NO-MOTO Pharmaceuticals, Europe.

In January 2006, Ajinomoto bought the cooking sauce and condiments manufacturer Amoy Food from the French dairy product company Groupe Danone.

In 2009, the company released "Ajinomoto" to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its foundation.

In 2010, due to a rise in foreign competition, Ajinomoto began restructuring to focus on several of its products while divesting others.

In late 2012, the Company sold its Calpis beverage unit to Asahi Breweries for US$1.5 billion.

Continuing the efforts in 2013.Launched Ajinomoto KK “Nabe Cube” (August).Dissolved partnership with Calpis Co., Ltd. by selling all outstanding shares (October)Established Ajinomoto Genexine Co., Ltd. in Korea (manufacturing/sales of culture media for animal cells) (November).

In April 2016, Ajinomoto merged its pharmaceutical division with Eisai, launching EA Pharma in Japan.

In December 2017, Ajinomoto announced it had begun construction to expand its Kawasaki Plant, along with the construction of a new R&D building.

In October 2018, Ajinomoto Althea (USA) and OmniChem (Belgium) merged to form Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services.

Signed an agreement to serve as an Official Partner of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games (March)(Category: Cooking Condiments, Dehydrated Soup, Amino Acid Based Granules and Prepared Frozen Foods)

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