Greetings Shokuya Customers,
Thank you for your ongoing support!
Since our last newsletter, we have launched a new brand of shoyu, Kaneyoshi, from Fukuoka in Kyushu. Kaneyoshi is a small shoyu brewery that is part of the association of shoyu makers who are reviving the use of “kioke,” cedar barrels. Soy sauce makers gradually stopped using kioke because other kinds of tanks became more efficient and foolproof. The makers of the barrels also declined until there were only two companies making them. However, there were still shoyu makers using them and one dedicated brewer, the president of Yamaroku soy sauce in Shodoshima, started the Kioke Shoyu Makers Association to revive the use of kioke. For several years now, this association has been running an annual kioke festival, where they make barrels themselves for themselves. Keizo Okuda (below), the 3rd generation president of Kaneyoshi, is one of these brewers.
Kaneyoshi now has five kioke barrels. They make roughly 4,000 liters of shoyu per year. We are importing three of their products in 100ml bottles—their flagship kioke shoyu, dashi shoyu, and ponzu. Okuda-san is a super-nice guy and he makes Kaneyoshi with his mother, who taught him shoyu making and still works side-by-side with him. For a small brewery, they make an impressive range of shoyu’s, demonstrating their mastery of their craft.
Since our last newsletter, we also exhibited at the Fancy Food Show. We had many visitors to our booth most of whom tasted through our entire range. We appreciate all of our new customers—retail and DTC.
We have also launched Bundles! Now you can order and gift Shokuya sets more easily.
We also started a loyalty program so you can earn points and save. We apologize to previous customers because we could not program the app to reward you retroactively. However, if you sign up at checkout, you will earn $1 for every $10 spent and you can redeem rewards after $30 in purchases.
We have also turned on Google reviews and would appreciate a Review. And you can always email us at info@shokuya.com with comments and ideas.
Coming Soon…
We are adding a new supplier from Kumamoto, Hara Nojo. “Nojo” means “farm.” The Hara family does all of their farming organically, using regenerative agriculture. They grow rice and barley. We are importing their mugicha, barley tea, which is a favorite among Japanese as a chilled, decaffeinated, summer drink. Kids love it! Soon, we will be adding Amanatsu (a Japanese citrus) Nigori Cider Vinegar and Brown Rice Vinegar from Matsuai, our current shoyu maker. We are adding 900mls of their signature “Marudaizu” shoyu. And we’ve got other irons in the fire!
We appreciate your support and look forward to being in touch again!
Thank you,
Henry
