New Food Products Utilizing Tsunan Sake Brewery’s Sake Lees Unveiled at “TORANOMON JUST RIGHT NEW FOOD” Tasting Event
Tsunan Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Tsunan Town, Nakauonuma District, Niigata Prefecture; President: Kengo Suzuki) is pleased to announce that two innovative food products made using our sake lees were unveiled at the “TORANOMON JUST RIGHT NEW FOOD” tasting event hosted by the Urban Renaissance Agency (UR) on September 29, 2025.
The event, themed “New Foods Just Right for the Earth and the Body,” featured a variety of sustainable menus utilizing environmentally conscious ingredients. As part of our Japanese Sake Upcycle Project, Tsunan Sake Brewery has been developing new food products that integrate beauty, health, and sustainability by utilizing sake lees—one of the key fermentation by-products of sake brewing.
Featured Products Containing Tsunan Sake Brewery’s Sake Lees
Amazake Sake Lees Yokan (Producer: Shinshodo) Ingredients: Oryze (Amazake), Tsunan Sake Brewery (Sake Lees) A refined yokan dessert themed around “beauty” and “health,” characterized by the delicate aroma of amazake (sweet fermented rice drink) and sake lees derived from Japanese sake. With a mild sweetness that highlights the natural flavor of its ingredients, this yokan offers a mellow umami unique to fermented foods.
Soycle & Sake Lees Green Curry (Provider: Spice and Vegetable Mumin) Ingredients: Uwamuki (Soycle Snack Flakes), Tsunan Sake Brewery (Sake Lees), Papaiya Ōji (Green Papaya) A plant-based green curry that achieves a deep, rich flavor by combining upcycled soy-based material “Soycle,” domestically produced green papaya, and Tsunan Sake Brewery’s sake lees. Despite being made entirely from plant-derived ingredients, it provides a satisfying and wholesome dining experience.
About the “Japanese Sake Upcycle Project”
This project, initiated by Tsunan Sake Brewery, aims to build a circular food production and supply system by redefining fermentation by-products such as sake lees—not as “waste,” but as valuable “resources.” With the growing recognition of the health benefits of sake lees—including potential effects on beauty, immunity, and gut health—our research now extends into applications across food, cosmetics, fertilizers, and even nanoparticle materials.
Guided by our philosophy, “Brew for Future — Brewing a Symbiotic Future,” Tsunan Sake Brewery will continue to pursue sake making that blends terroir and science, contributing to the well-being of local communities, society, and the planet.
About Tsunan Sake Brewery
Located in one of Japan’s heaviest snowfall regions, Tsunan Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. is based in Tsunan Town, Niigata Prefecture. The brewery uses natural spring water flowing from mountains over 2,000 meters high, and crafts sake from locally grown rice varieties such as Gohyakumangoku and Uonuma Koshihikari. Our approach embodies a fusion of tradition, coexistence with nature, and innovation. In 2025, Tsunan Sake Brewery received the Niigata Governor’s Award (First Place) at the Echigo-Style Sake Brewing Technology Competition.
Website: https://tsunan-sake.com/
