Ajinomoto, Japan's Leading Seasoning Maker, to Acquire Oregon Soup Ingredient Supplier
Japan's leading seasoning maker withheld the purchasing price of the U.S. company.
04/04/07 Ajinomoto Co. said it will acquire all shares in Oregon-based corn powder and dried vegetables maker New Season Foods Inc. on March 1, in a bid to secure stable supplies of ingredients for its mainstay soup business, the Kyodo news service reported.
Japan's leading seasoning maker withheld the purchasing price of the U.S. company.
With the acquisition, Ajinomoto can also cut procurement costs by raising its self-sufficiency rate of dried vegetables and other key ingredients for soup products to 80% from the current 20%, it said, Kyodo reported.
The Ajinomoto group at present procures about 2,000 tons of corn powder annually, half from the U.S. maker and the other half from its factory in Hokkaido.
Ajinomoto expects demand for soup products to grow in Japan, where the population is rapidly graying.
It aims to expand sales at the U.S. firm to Y1.5 billion in five years from the current Y900 million.
