Concept
Bringing the bounty of the earth to your table in pursuit of healthful and tasty food.
Story
In March 1948, our predecessors in this family business began manufacturing and selling natto (fermented
soybeans) in the city of Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture.
In the company’s early days, everything was made by hand in a special annex of the family home.
As with many tofu stores at the time, natto was delivered and sold to each household by bicycle.
In poverty-stricken postwar Japan, natto was a staple side dish for rice, and an indispensable item at
the dining table for the protein and nutrition it provided.
Natto has always been a regular feature of the Japanese breakfast, and our predecessors acknowledged
this custom by changing the company name to Asaichiban (meaning “first thing in the morning” in
Japanese) in the 1980s.
Since its establishment in 1948, Asaichiban has been dedicated to producing natto and has continued to
do so with a focus on taste.
Around 1985 and ahead of our competitors, we began exporting our products overseas. After receiving a request from an exporter who saw Asaichiban natto at a supermarket in Japan, we sent our first shipment to the U.S. from the Port of Yokohama. Since then, we have gradually expanded and are currently developing sales channels in various countries in Asia, Oceania, Europe, and North America.
Natto is a proudly traditional Japanese food.
Our goal is a taste to last 100 years.
We will deliver this across the oceans and around the world.
History
●March 1948
Shirakawa Natto Manufacturing Company begins production and sales of natto.
●July 1965
800 m2 of land secured for the construction of a factory in Nishine, Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture.
●April 1966
Construction of factory completed.
●May 1973
Factory expanded by 500 m2.
●November 1985
3,300 m2 site secured in Ototo, Tsuchiura for the construction of a new factory.
●December 1994
Construction of new factory completed.
●March 1995
Company name changed to Asaichiban Co., Ltd.
●February 1996
Receive the Chairman's Award at the Japan
National Natto Cooperative Society Federation’s first Natto Contest.
Product: Organic Natto Mito no Aji Mini 3
●September 1997
Factory expanded by 600 m2.
●February 2001
Head office factory certified to produce a processed organic agricultural product (Organic JAS).
(OMIC certification number: 1026)
●April 2004
Capital increased to 20 million yen.
●February 2008
Receive the Food Safety Director’s Award (Large and Medium Grain Category/Pharmaceutical and Food Safety
Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) at the Japan National Natto Cooperative Society Federation’s thirteenth Natto
Contest.
Product name: Hokkaido Natto Mini 3
●March 2009
Obtain Ibaraki HACCP certification for our head office factory.
●August 2009
Address changed from 1-77 Uenobangai, Ototo, Tsuchiura to our current address, 1-265 Oyamada, Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture.
●December 2012
Head office factory audited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and obtains the BTA number 700635709.
●January 2016
Mamenoka launched.
List of countries/regions to which we export
Asia-Pacific
- Taiwan
- Korea
- Hong Kong
- Singapore
- Vietnam
- Indonesia
- Thailand
Oceania
- Australia
- New Zealand
North America
- United States
- Canada
South America
- Brazil
Europe
- United Kingdom
- The Netherlands
- Germany
- Poland
- France
- Italy
- Spain
- Sweden
Certification, etc.
- Ibaraki HACCP certification
- Organic JAS OMIC certification
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) BTA-covered
Greetings from our Representative Director
Details
Company name:Asaichiban Co., Ltd.
Main factory:1-265 Oyamada, Tsuchiura-shi, Ibaraki, 300-0846, Japan