Kirin Brewery Company Ltd., Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd. and Kirin Beverage Corporation signed a memorandum of agreement to form a business alliance within Japan centering on health foods and functional foods. The statement notes, “’Functional foods’ refers to standard processed foods that have had particular ingredients fortified to appeal as functional foods, and to various types of health-promoting foods.”
The new alliance represents the progression of a business collaboration begun in 2003 between Yakult Honsha and Kirin Beverage, under which the two companies have been selling each other's products in their vending machines. By broadening the alliance between Kirin Group and Yakult Group, the three companies in the new agreement expect they can “become more responsive to changes in the longer-term business environment and create additional value.”