Japanese brand Kikkoman plans to turn the Indian palate to soy sauce

World's largest soy sauce maker enters India through fully-owned subsidiary

Fancy having jalebi with a dash of naturally brewed soy sauce as a dessert? If that seems like an unpalatable idea, just check with Harry Hakuei Ko­sato, the India director of Kikk­oman, the world’s largest soy sauce ma­ker. Kosato says many chefs in the country have lap­ped up their experiment of com­bining a salty sauce with an Indian sweet — having alre­ady tried it out with ice-cream.

Kikkoman has big plans for India. The Japanese soya sauce firm, with revenue of about $4.4 billion, has made an agg­ressive entry into the country through a fully owned subsidiary, determined to replicate the US model. When the 350-year-old Kik­k­­­o­­­man entered the US in 1957, soy sauce didn’t quite feature in the country’s culinary sche­me of things. Sixty years down the line, it had cha­nged the co­n­­s­umer palate. To­day, Kikko­man sells soy sauce worth over $500 million ann­ually in the US.  

In India, the soy sauce market is in its infancy, accounting for merely Rs 46 crore per an­num. The sauce is mostly used for Indian Chinese fare. But Ko­sato isn’t daunted by this reality. “We see India as a pro­mi­sing emerging market,” he says. “Our target is that by 2030, we will see a high growth phase in soy sauce in India, too. Just like in the US, we are building a new market.”  The strategy is sim­ple: Educating consumers and chefs, and gradually customising for the Indian palate. For instance, Kikkoman plans to launch soy sauce in a darker colour because Indians prefer their Chinese food that way. It’s also looking to leverage India’s love for chilies in its soy sauce offerings. Also on the agenda is a plan to educate chefs to differentiate between Kikkoman products and the many others that have chemical add-ons. Kosato says their products are made with just four ingredi­ents: Soy, wheat, salt and wat­er.   The firm is working with brand ambassadors such as chef Vicky Ratnani to whip up Indian recipes with soya sauce.      

For now, Kikkoman is concentrating on three markets — Delhi and the NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The focus is on institutional sales — hotels and restaurants, targeting over a thousand outlets. Queries are also coming in from cities like Pune, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Nashik. 

Kikkoman plans a foray into the retail market as well, with its flagship 500 ml offering. Kosato promises affordable prices “in line with most imp­orted brands, with an entry price of Rs 235”, though he concedes “it’s more expensive than the Indian-made products”. 

There are, however, no immediate plans of setting set up a manufacturing plant in India. In the US, the company did so after 16 years. 

But the big question is: Will Indians get hooked on soya sauce the way Americans have? 

Sceptics say Kellogg’s succeeded in Japan by converting the population – over a period of 20 years – to start consuming cornflake for breakfast. But it hasn’t been as lucky in India. That’s a likely reason why the US firmhas tweaked its India recipe by launching traditional breakfast, such as ready-to-eat upma and poha, which is becoming quite popular. 

Kosato admits that India, with its diverse palates, is not like the US. But then, the company's soy sauce, he adds, can be used universally for any kind of cuisine, and is as subtle and refined as having a glass of wine.