OREANDA-NEWS. Ajinomoto do Brasil Industria e Comercio de Alimentos Ltda. (Ajinomoto Brazil), a consolidated subsidiary of Ajinomoto Co., Inc. (Ajinomoto Co.), invested BRL 47 million (approximately JPY 2 billion) in 2012 to substantially expand its existing factory and increase production capacity for Brazil’s top brand of flavor seasonings, TEMPERO3 Sazon®. Full-scale operation began in August. As a result, production capacity is expected to increase by approximately 40 percent, enabling the company to continue meeting expected ongoing growth in demand and to further expand its business in Argentina, Chile and elsewhere in South America, in addition to Brazil.

Through aggressive marketing, TEMPERO Sazon® has gained acceptance among consumers in Brazil for its deliciousness, ease of preparation and convenience since its launch in 1988, and is now widely used in home cooking. Available in nine varieties for different applications, the product has maintained approximately 5 percent average annual growth in sales volume from fiscal 2008 to fiscal 2012. As of 2013, the 25th anniversary of the product’s launch, a cumulative total of approximately 3.5 billion 12-sachet bags of TEMPERO Sazon® have been sold. A solid brand with top market share, it is a core product for Ajinomoto Brazil.

Ajinomoto Brazil accounts for about 10 percent of the approximately JPY 200 billion in sales of the Ajinomoto Group’s overseas consumer foods business, and its sales are steadily growing. Ajinomoto Co. has designated strengthening and growing the overseas consumer foods business as one of the key principles of its FY2011-2013 Medium-Term Management Plan in order to become a genuine global company. The South American market for flavor seasonings accounts for 18 percent of the global flavor seasonings market, which Ajinomoto Co. estimates at approximately 1.1 million tons in 2011, and it is expanding steadily, with approximately 5 percent average annual growth. Ajinomoto Co. has positioned South America as an area for accelerated business expansion and aims to further increase sales of seasonings, mainly flavor seasonings, in Brazil as well as deepen and expand its business by developing markets in neighboring countries.