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Morinaga & Company history
Morinaga & Company company history timeline
Established in 1899 by Taichiro Morinaga, who had a pioneer spirit and the dream of "offering nutritious and good-tasting confectionery to Japanese children," Morinaga & Co.
Morinaga founded his business with partner Hanzaburo Matsuzaki in 1899, opening a small shop in the Akasaka neighborhood of Tokyo.
In the meantime, the company's strong marshmallow sales inspired the adoption of a logo, an angel, in 1905--the angel logo also fit in with Morinaga's work as a Christian missionary.
1910 FebruaryEstablished as Morinaga’s Western Confectionery Shop with capital of 300,000 yen.
The company adopted the name Morinaga Confectionery Inc. in 1912.
Morinaga set out to develop a new caramel recipe for the Japanese market, and by 1914 had perfected a recipe that both appealed to the Japanese palate and also offered a longer shelf life.
1914: After years of research, Morinaga launches a caramel candy, Hi-chew, designed to appeal to the Japanese market.
1918: Morinaga becomes the first company to market chocolate bars in Japan.
1919 Launched Morinaga Milk, small cans of condensed milk
Meanwhile, the company began extending its dairy product line, launching its first powdered baby formula in 1920.
1921 Launched Morinaga Dried Milk (infant formula)
1923 MarchMorinaga Product Sales Co., Ltd. (a distributor for Morinaga products) is established (subsequently, distributor companies are established throughout Japan). AprilMorinaga Candy Store opens in the Marunouchi Building in central Tokyo.
1925 JuneTsurumi Factory is newly established.
To meet the rising demand, the company installed its first production machinery--previously, production had been by hand--and launched mass production in 1925.
1925: The company installs machinery and begins mass production of candies and confectionery.
1929 Launched Morinaga Pasteurized Milk (bottled milk)
Among these were baby biscuits, called Morinaga Manna, which the company began producing in 1930.
In 1935, Hanzaburo Matsuzaki became company president.
Following the war, the company, now led by Taihei Morinaga, decided to split up its operations, separating its dairy business into a separate company, which became known as Morinaga Dairy Industries in 1949.
The company merged with Morinaga & Co., Ltd and was then split off, taking its current form as Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd. in 1949.
In 1954, its production capacity expanded with a new band oven--the first to be brought into Japan.
1954 Shares listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
1956: Morinaga begins production of ice cream.
Another strong seller for the company came in 1957, when it introduced its popular Hotcake Mix.
1961 Launched Creap (creaming powder)
1964: The company has a new hit product with the launch of Hi-Crown Chocolate.
1966 Commercial milk plant in Nagoya opened (currently the Chukyo plant)
1969 OctoberMorinaga merges with (the former) Morinaga Shoji Co., Ltd.
1970 DecemberMorinaga Development Co., Ltd. is established.
1971 Conclusion of a trademark licensing agreement with Sunkist Growers, Inc.
1973 SeptemberShinwa Shoji KK (currently Morinaga Shoji Co., Ltd., a consolidated subsidiary) is established.
1980 JanuaryMorinaga Dessert Co., Ltd. (currently a consolidated subsidiary) is established.
1981 Launched long-life handy packaged milk-based drink Piknik
1983: The company launches a nutritional foods division and begins a product development and marketing agreement with Weider, of the United States.
The crime wave started with the kidnapping of the president of a rival company, Ezaki Glico, in 1984, followed by a demand for ¥1 billion and 100 kilograms of gold bullion--and a threat that the band would place poison in Glico products on supermarket shelves.
1984 Conclusion of trademark licensing agreement with Lipton UK (currently Unilever Japan Beverage K.K.)
1985 Morinaga Nutritional Foods, Inc. (US) established and full-scale sales of TOFU launched
The Kiosk Division splits off and is launched as KK Morinaga Candy Store (company name changed to KK Restaurant Morinaga in 1987).
1989 NovemberMorinaga Development Co., Ltd. is registered with the Japan Securities Dealers Association as an over-the-counter sales brand.
The Brewing Division splits off and is launched as Morinaga Jozo KK (company name changed to Fukutokucho Shurui KK in 1991)
Among the most successful company products launched during the decade were its Sold Dazen chocolates, introduced in 1993.
1995: The highly popular Weider in Jelly product line is launched.
1996 Morinaga Aloe Yogurt won gold prize at SIAL (the 1996 Paris International Food Exhibition)
As part of that effort, the company sold off its liquor operation in 2000.
2000: The company launches a new corporate "power brand" strategy focusing on core brands and product lines.
2001 JanuaryFukutokucho Shurui KK shares are transferred.
2001 Received designation of FOSHU for Morinaga Caldus Milk, a lactic fermented beverage exclusively for home deliveries
Targeting a young male market, the Weider line grew steadily into the next decade, and by 2002 represented nearly 20 percent of the company's total sales.
2003 MarchMorinaga (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (currently Shanghai Morinaga Co., Ltd., a consolidated subsidiary) is established.
2003 Received the Minister's Award for "development of an industrial manufacturing technique for lactoferrin" from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
2004 DecemberAngel Food Systems Inc. shares are transferred.
The company launched construction of a manufacturing facility in Shanghai, which was expected to be operational by the end of 2004.
2005 Launched PARM (ice cream bar)
2006 Kobe plant begins operation
2008January Morinaga purchases all shares of DU Associates Inc., of which Aunt Stella Inc. is a fully owned subsidiary) (now a consolidated subsidiary of Morinaga) (in October 2008, Aunt Stella Inc. absorbs DU Associates Inc.)
2008 Betsukai Plant's new cheese building begins operation
2010 DecemberMorinaga Food (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd. (currently a consolidated subsidiary) is established.
2010 Received the Minister's Award for "Development of manufacturing process of tasty protein hydrolysate with low antigenicity" from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
2011 AprilTakasaki Morinaga Co., Ltd. (currently a consolidated subsidiary) is established.
2013 JuneTsukaguchi Factory is closed.
2014 Received a special award from the Rainforest Alliance, an international non-profit environmental organization
Morinaga Milk Group celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2017.
2019 MayMorinaga Asia Pacific Co., Ltd. (now a consolidated subsidiary) is established.
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Morinaga & Company competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ajinomoto | 1917 | $8.4B | 32,509 | - |
| Native Sons | 1984 | $1.6M | 30 | - |
| Hawaiian Host | 1927 | $10.8M | 200 | 24 |
| FarmTek | 1979 | $650,000 | 1 | 12 |
| World's Finest Chocolate | 1949 | $300.0M | 200 | 6 |
| Plaid Crafts | 1976 | $200.0M | 500 | 210 |
| KONG | 1976 | $10.0M | 50 | 15 |
| Hopkins Manufacturing | 1953 | $180.0M | 650 | 58 |
| Brill | 1928 | $61.0M | 1,000 | - |
| stylecraft | - | $3.9M | 25 | 9 |
Morinaga & Company history FAQs
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Morinaga & Company may also be known as or be related to Morinaga & Co, Morinaga & Co Ltd, Morinaga & Co. Ltd and Morinaga & Company.