Yakult U.S.A. Selects California as Location for First U.S. Factory

TORRANCE, Calif., June 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Yakult U.S.A. Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based company Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd., has selected the City of Fountain Valley, California as the location of its first U.S. factory. With operations set to start in 2012, the facility will produce 250,000 bottles per day of the company's signature probiotic drink Yakult® and serve the current sales territories – mainly California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Colorado and New Mexico – where it is available through most major retailers. The new factory will poise the company for expansion into new regions.

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"We are looking forward to the completion of the Yakult California Factory since it will allow us to provide our product to more and more people across the country," says Executive Vice president and C.O.O. Mr. Teruo Tabuchi. "In the heart of Orange County, Fountain Valley is ideal because it is in close proximity to Los Angeles, which is our biggest market now."

Though Yakult is celebrating its 75th anniversary and has become a staple household product in over 30 countries, the probiotic drink was first introduced to the U.S. general market in late 2007 and has experienced steady and promising growth. In 2009 an average of 90,000 bottles of Yakult were being consumed on a daily basis, a growth rate of 41% compared to the prior year. Last month alone, 110,000 bottles were drunk in the U.S.

The new factory will sit on 387,000 square feet of land and have a maximum production capacity of 760,000 bottles per day. The company will continue to import the beverage from Guadalajara, Mexico, the closest plant to U.S. borders, until the factory opens.

Yakult U.S.A. Inc. is headquartered in Torrance, CA and currently distributes Yakult, one of the world's leading probiotic beverages, in the U.S. and Canadian markets. Yakult was created by microbiologist Dr. Minoru Shirota in 1935 in Japan to help people maintain good health. Yakult Honsha Co., Ltd. was established in Japan in 1955 and is regarded as the world's pioneer of probiotics. For more information, please visit www.yakultusa.com.  

SOURCE Yakult U.S.A. Inc.

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