“What makes Japan interesting?” asked Manley. “In this country we have a few companies that run all the major brands. Over there you have a really diverse group of companies that come out with beverage products. You have the typical beverage manufacturers like the Cokes and Pepsis; then you have the alcoholic beverage companies like Asaki and Sintori. And you also have companies that deal with vitamins (pharmaceutical companies) so you have a very diverse group of companies vying for the beverage stomach of people in Japan.

“Once Coca Cola decided to market its coffee brand and it was very successful, just about every other company that was involved in coffee put their brands out there,” said Manley.

The Japanese government developed “Food for special health use – FOSHU” to identify conventional foods that positively contribute to physiological systems in the human body from other foods by allowing these foods to have health claims and an approved logo printed on their package. Manley said the FOSHU category of has become an interesting and growing market. A real hit that was launched a couple years ago was essentially driven by catechins. The health value of catechins – green tea – this is a FOSHU product.

Talking about special health products (FOSHU), Manley said “I think this is where Japan has gone right and the U.S. has gone wrong in some of our health regulations. A lot of confusion exists in this country as to what claim relates to reality and who certifies this claim, etc. I think a lot of people in the country are going to get disillusioned as they find out about the people making claims.” What they have structured in Japan is a special category of food products which is ingredient based. If you qualify, you get this symbol (similar to a Good Housekeeping symbol) on your product. “This symbol is highly respected in Japan and tells the consumer this claim has been validated by an independent group. It’s sort of like our FEMA GRAS approval of safety in substances that can be used in the food industry. Everyone accepts that FOSHU has become very acceptable. This was established in 1991. It was slow to take action because everyone had to meet the regulations so there were four or five years while people were putting things together and getting all the proper paperwork and toxicology studies needed. Essentially, what it does is separate the FOSHU products from functional foods because functional foods can make label claims but they can’t make certain claims that are only for FOSHU products.”

Manley said the review and approval process for FOSHU products include a functional food committee and subcommittees on ingredients vs. claims. Some of the ingredients include certain dietary fibers, sugar alcohols, polysaccharides, polyphenols, etc. An individual company can take its data showing the product’s effectiveness for a claim to a subcommittee which will review it. An expert panel will qualify that it meets the claim and then that company owns that claim for that product and they can put their sticker on it and on anybody who makes a food product from that functional material. If another company has a similar material, they have to go through the registration process. That protects the intellectual property (IP) developed by the other company. “So, if you’re a competitor who has something that works, too, you have to have it registered and then you can give your customers use of this emblem.” He said it allows companies to invest in a lot of intellectual property and then not feel that it is open for everyone to take.

Manley said soft drinks – yogurts – pro-biotics and pre-biotics are growing. Pharmaceutical companies manufacture these types of products. They’re marketed in small bottles and are, he said, very expensive. Consumers get them out of the vending machines. Their popularity is all about gastrointestinal type of support. The Japanese consumer is very knowledgeable about the health benefits of these drinks. “Another popular drink that is selling well offers to lower cholesterol and, of course, carries the FOSHU label. Yet another offers to lower blood pressure – it is a lactic acid bacteria drink for high blood pressure.” Manley said.

He added that one of the FOSHU milk products claims to clean the intestines and relieve constipation. The Japanese, particularly men, he said, are obsessed with clean intestines. There are a lot of products there based on fibers and ingredients that are known to clean the intestines.

“If you ever get the opportunity to go to Japan, go to one of the vending machines,” Manley advised. It’s a sophisticated system offering a variety of products which are found everywhere. “Last year there was only one vending machine vandalized in the entire country – that’s the kind of society you have in Japan. You can have vending machines everywhere – in alleyways, on the roadside, unattended and they’re never touched. It’s a very good way of marketing new items but I’m not sure we could do that in this country.”