Disseminating the appeal of Japanese sake.

Their annual production volume is a mere 80 koku (a little over 14 kiloliters)—Sugihara Shuzo, maker of the Ibi brand, is labeled as the smallest sake brewery in Japan. It was the 5th generation owner, Yoshiki Sugihara, who took over the nearly collapsing business and enabled Ibi to be sold throughout Japan via retailers under special contracts. His next goal is to “build a business model for breweries under 100 koku (18 kiloliters) production to be sustainable.” Sugihara’s reformation and challenge continue.