In April 2012, amid the exuberance of spring and its limitless brightness, when I saw Newamstar’s brand new designed and manufactured production line operating stably at high speeds in the orderly Otsuka Shenchang (Guangdong) Beverage Co., Ltd. factory, I couldn’t help but feel endless emotions and excitement. I’m very grateful to our installation and commissioning personnel who managed to complete the installation and commissioning of the 36,000 bottles/hour moderate temperature filling line project within such a short time, fully meeting Otsuka’s strict requirements. They have poured in countless efforts and sweat, as well as wisdom and strength in creation. This is already the seventh high-speed beverage production line Newamstar has successfully provided for the Otsuka Group.
Otsuka Shenchang (Guangdong) Beverage Co., Ltd. is located in the Xinhui Economic Development Zone of Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province. It is a Sino-foreign joint venture established in 2005 by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Shenchang Trading Co., Ltd. under Hong Kong CITIC Pacific Group, and also Otsuka Pharmaceutical’s 12th invested company in China. Otsuka Shenchang’s main business is the production and sales of Pocari Sweat, covering South China and East China.
Pocari Sweat is ranked third globally and first in Asia in sales of functional beverages. This brings us into Otsuka Pharmaceutical to learn about this electrolyte supplement beverage – Pocari Sweat.
Established in Japan in 1921, Otsuka Pharmaceutical has the goal of contributing to human health and engages in business activities. Today, the Otsuka Pharmaceutical Group, consisting of Otsuka Pharmaceutical and its subsidiaries and affiliates, has 106 companies in 18 countries and regions worldwide, with 33,000 employees. Otsuka Pharmaceutical continues to nurture a corporate ethic and vitality that relates closely to life, looks to the world, and considers symbiosis with communities and the natural environment, working wholeheartedly to contribute to richer, healthier lives for people worldwide.
Pocari Sweat is a functional beverage under Otsuka, also known as “sweat beverage” in Japan, meaning “beverage for drinking when sweating”. Unimaginably, like Aladdin discovering treasures upon opening the cave door, the magical Pocari Sweat also has unexpected wonders. Pocari Sweat is not only easily absorbed by the human body, but is also absorbed faster than water, quickly reaching every part of the body and thoroughly quenching both “thirst” and “cellular thirst”. Pocari Sweat stays in the body longer than water, providing more lasting hydration. With composition similar to body fluids, Pocari Sweat gently replenishes water and maintains electrolyte balance. Every 100ml of Pocari Sweat contains only 109 kilojoules of energy, making it a truly healthy beverage.
Speaking of this, you must be interested in exploring the birth and history of Pocari Sweat. More than 30 years ago, when Otsuka employees went abroad on business trips, they unfortunately suffered food poisoning. To prevent dehydration caused by diarrhea, large amounts of saline were injected. This enlightened Otsuka employees that it would be great to have a beverage that could directly provide electrolyte intake when drunk. So the idea was brought back to Japan. Otsuka Pharmaceutical was then a world-famous IV solution manufacturer. Using human engineering, exercise physiology and other scientific methods to study human activities, daily life, sports and more, Otsuka developed Pocari Sweat, a beverage to replenish body fluids and electrolytes, in 1980 based on the concept of “drinkable IV solution”.
In 2002, Pocari Sweat entered China, establishing its first plant in Tianjin. Thus, Pocari Sweat gradually became known to the Chinese public, and became the special sports health drink for athletes of the General Administration of Sport of China’s Training Bureau. In 2005, Pocari Sweat expanded sales in southern China and set up its second plant in Jiangmen, Guangdong. On the road of growth and success for Pocari Sweat, it has not only sponsored the 1998, 2002 and 2006 Asian Games, but appears more in our daily exercises, working hours and lifestyles, “secretly moistening things in the night wind, silently”, ubiquitous and intimate.
With product sales reaching new levels, cooperation between Newamstar and Otsuka has also been continuously upgraded. Today, not only has Newamstar’s outstanding product quality and perfect after-sales service long been recognized by Otsuka, but cooperation between both parties has also deepened. “Rejoicing your joy, chasing your chase”, inheriting excellence in respective fields and dedicating the industry legend wholeheartedly.
