Yakult to double output capacity of hit drink Y1000, Nikkei says
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Yakult plans to build another line at a domestic factory to double daily output to 400,000 units.
PHOTO: YAKULT SINGAPORE
TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) - Yakult Honsha plans to double the output capacity of its hit probiotic drink Y1000, the Nikkei reported, after a plug by a celebrity vaulted the already popular product on social media, exacerbating shortages across Japan.
The company plans to build another line at a domestic factory as soon as July, allowing it to double daily output to 400,000 units from 200,000, Nikkei reported without saying where it obtained the information.
Shares of the Tokyo-based company rose as much as 2 per cent on Wednesday (June 1) after the report.
The buzz over the drink exploded in April after being featured by the television personality Matsuko Deluxe, who said it could help with sleep and stress.
The drink has been sold out at convenience stores and supermarkets, and a version for home delivery has also been in short supply, prompting the company to issue an apology on Tuesday.
Even before the mention on national television, the product was hard to come by owing to increased interest in health-related products amid the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Nikkei report, the bulk of Yakult's 11.7 billion yen (S$124 million) capital spending budget for the year ending March will go towards buffering the 1000 brand.
The product's name comes from it containing 100 billion (expressed as a thousand hundred of millions in Japanese) Shirota lactic acid bacteria, named after the company's founder Minoru Shirota.
