American Products in Japan

With its strong economy, Japan has long been an attractive market for international companies, but most have found entrance difficult. Aside from formal trade restrictions, the business environment in Japan includes long-standing relationships and interrelationships which can be difficult for foreign companies to understand and even more difficult for them to exploit. Nonetheless, Japanese consumers are delighted with American goods and American style, and so some Western goods have found popularity in Japan that continues to encourage other manufacturers. Disney is one example of an American company whose product (Tokyo Disneyland) has successfully been adopted by Japanese consumers; soft drinks are another area in which American companies in general, and Coca-Cola in particular, have found success. This research examines the beverage industry in the United States and Japan, and considers the marketing implications for beverage manufacturers seeking to enter or expand their presence in Japan.

This area of research is important and relevant because soft drink sales in many parts of the world, and in the United States in particular, have plateaued. Many companies, including CocaCola realize a higher percentage of their profits from their foreign operations than their domestic operations, and these companies are seeking ways to expand their market share and maintain their profitability as the potential for new markets apparently declines. In some areas in Ja

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m ("Land of the Rising Snap" 18). Sports drinks such as Gatorade have long been successful niche markets within the United States; the 1990s saw an increase in the number of health food and beverages that are also marketed in the United States, with a special emphasis on "nutraceutical" beverages which are supposed to have disease-prevention or other health benefits. Such juices are heavily regulated in the United States where therapeutic benefits are challenged by the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, but overseas regulations are often much more relaxed. This offers companies such as Coca-Cola and Cadbury strong overseas marketing opportunities if they are able to complete the requisite research and marketing efforts necessary to bring such products to market (Khermouch 16). Nutraceutical juices have a particular appeal to the Japanese where "natural" healing methods are perceived as having greater value than in Western societies. Coca-Cola has already introduced health juices in Japan designed to augment its market share and all three of the major beverage manufacturers are said to be pursuing this market as having strong future potential. Canned tea and health juices may well represent a strong marketing potential for b

Category: Foreign - A