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Itoen launches Japanese tea heritage site and video to communicate value and origins amid supply pressures

Itoen opened a dedicated website and corporate video on September 16 to communicate Japanese tea's heritage, producer stories, and terroir as the industry faces shrinking domestic production, aging growers, and rising leaf prices. The company, which has worked with tea regions since 1976, frames the campaign around sustaining tea culture for future generations while competing against overseas-grown tea entering the Japanese market. QR codes on Itoen's O-i Ocha bottles with GI…

ITO EN — Newsroom · 2026-09-16

2026.09.16サステナビリティ事業活動日本茶の価値と魅力を伝える特設サイト・動画を、9月16日（水）に公開日本茶を100年先も。その先も。日本茶の価値と産地の未来をつなぎ、次の世代へ

Itoen launches Japanese tea heritage site and video to communicate value and origins amid supply pressures — Photograph: ITO EN — Newsroom

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Key points

Itoen addressing domestic production decline, grower aging, and tea price rises through heritage and transparency messag…
New site and video feature producer voices and regional landscapes to justify Japanese tea value against imported-leaf c…
O-i Ocha GI-marked bottles carry QR codes to heritage site; rollout begins September 21 across product lines
Tea-region cultivation partnership program active since 1976; company involved from cultivation through processing stage
October 1 Japanese Tea Day events planned across ~260 stores with certified tasting staff proposing consumption occasion…

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The numbers

Tea-region cultivation program duration: 1976年より Certified tea-taster employees (as of May 2026): 2,460名 Planned Japanese Tea Day event locations: 全国約260店舗

What they said

“To pass on the deliciousness of Japanese tea to the future, it is important to communicate its true value and build a cycle where tea-growing regions continue through the choice of Japanese tea.”

日本茶のおいしさを未来へつないでいくためには、その価値を正しくお伝えし、日本茶が選ばれることで産地が続いていく循環を築いていくことが重要です。

“As products made with tea leaves cultivated and processed overseas circulate to fill part of domestic demand, it has become essential to communicate clearly to consumers the origin and production background of raw materials.”

国内需要の一部を補う形で、海外で栽培・加工された茶葉を使用した製品も流通する中で、お客様に原料の産地や茶づくりの背景を分かりやすくお伝えすることが重要になっています。