4-27, Takahata-cho Nishinomiya City
Itoham Foods is one of Japan's most successful producers of processed meats and sausages, and it has recently joined companies based in Europe and the United States in producing and distributing other food products including edible oils and dairy products. Recognized for its dedication to the promotion of Japanese business in domestic and foreign markets, Itoham plans to expand its investments into biotechnology as a source of long-term stability.
Denzo Ito established a meat-processing company, The Ito Processed Food Company, in Osaka, Japan, in 1928. Two years later this company went bankrupt in response to the worldwide Depression, but it was re-formed in 1932 as Ito Meat Processing Company, in Kobe, Japan. A year later the company first marketed what was called the Pole Wiener, a sausage wrapped in cellophane, a popular base from which the company's product line was to grow in later years.
In 1943 Ito Meat's factory was closed as a result of the emergency conditions brought about by World War II, but Ito Meat's investors were quick to reestablish their company soon after the war. In 1946, the factory in Kobe returned to production, this time as the Ito Food Processing Company. Pressed ham, or yose ham, was one the first products on-line at the Kobe factory. Two years later, the company was reorganized again as the Ito Ham Company Limited, with ¥3 million in capital.
In 1957 Ito Ham Company developed a method of producing hams and sausages which used mutton as well as pork, which was still scarce in Japan. Finding this method a worthwhile money-saver, the company imported 3,000 tons of mutton that year. The company also expanded its production capacity, building a plant in Tokyo in 1959 and one in Nishinomiya the next year.
The business was renamed Ito Ham Provisions Company, Limited, in 1961, and its stock was listed for the first time on the Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges. The following year Ito Ham built another plant, in Toyohashi. By 1965 Ito Ham was attracting foreign interest. Three years later Ito Ham launched its first ship, to import raw materials from Australia and New Zealand.
In 1967 the company opened yet another plant, this time in Kyushu, and began to produce dairy products, its first nonmeat food prodocts.
Several foreign delegations visited Ito Ham's plants throughout Japan. These included economic delegations from New Zealand, Great Britain, Denmark, Australia, and China. In 1973, Ito Ham began business relations with the United States as the exclusive distributor of Armour Food Company's products in Japan. Then in 1974 Ito Ham acquired Cariani Sausage Company, a sausage maker in San Francisco, California.
Nine years later Ito Ham was again involved with an American company, this time in a joint endeavor with the Carnation Company. In March, 1983 Ito Ham and Carnation agreed to jointly produce cooking oils, chilled foods, sauces and seasoning, milk products, and soft drinks through a venture called Ito Carnation Company. This plan gave Carnation the footing in Japanese manufacturing which it had been seeking and expanded Ito Ham's product range at a time when meat consumption in Japan was slowing.
In September, 1985 Ito Ham entered into an agreement with a French cheese company, Fromageries Bel. Ito Ham agreed to sell three of Bel's natural cheeses in supermarkets throughout Japan, promising initial sales of at least ¥600 million. The companies agreed that when sales of the cheeses exceeded ¥2 billion, Ito Ham would begin to produce the cheese in Japan using Bel's production technology.
Ito Ham again dealt with French food manufacturers in May, 1984, this time hammering out an agreement with Tour d'Argent, a prestigious French restaurant. According to the agreement Ito Ham would distribute the restaurant's specialty food products like tea, coffee, and mustard in department stores and boutiques around Japan.
To insure long-term growth and stability, Ito Ham decided to develop its interest in biotechnology. In August, 1984 it announced plans to commercialize its method of extracting valuable chemical elements from pig blood, particularly an amino acid used for flavoring. The company began building a new laboratory for this and other biotechnical research in December, 1988, and it was during this period that the name Itoham Foods, Inc. was adopted.
Kenichi Ito, Itoham's president, has cited Japan's abundant food supply and the resulting stiff competition in the domestic food market as two of the difficult conditions under which Itoham entered the 1990s. Now that Japan's quantity of food is more than sufficient, Ito has said that Japan's consumers are buying according to taste. Itoham prides itself on its corporate and production flexibility in adapting to changing market trends. Itoham Foods entered the 1990s in a strong position as a leading meat processor and an increasingly integrated food business.
Principal Subsidiaries: Itoham Daily Inc.; Hokkaido Itoham Inc.; Itoham Shokuhin Inc.; Itoham Tokyo Sales Inc.; Okinawa Itoham Inc.; Ariake Meat Packers Inc.; Nippon Farm Inc.; HW Delicatessen Inc.; Sendai Meat Packers Inc.; Toci Meat Packets Inc.; Hoei & Co., Ltd.
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