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The famous Japanese barbecue sauce Mr. Yoshida‘s was on the verge of disappearing after being acquired by Heinz almost 25 years ago. But in 2024, its founder decided to buy back the brand in order to regain its place on supermarket shelves and in the hearts of thousands of fans.
With his charismatic image on the labels – cowboy hat, glasses and a very broad smile – the creator of Mr. Yoshida’s has a story based on resilience. After being rejected by his family when he moved from Kyoto to Seattle at the age of 19, Yoshida decided to fight for his dream. In 1982, he would then start designing his own sauce in the basement of his home in Oregon, inspired by the recipe of his mother, who served it in her restaurant in Japan. The brand soon became a success, reaching sales of $25 million before Heinz bought the U.S. distribution rights for $24 million in 2000.
Yoshida’s successful buyback
The sauce’s projected success story would eventually lose its essence and power. As Heinz took over, Mr. Yoshida’s sales began to decline, despite having accounted for 26% of the teriyaki market in the U.S. For more than two decades, the sauce lost its prominence, until Yoshida decided to take back what he considered his.
This year, with renewed determination, he bought back the rights to the sauce and reintroduced it to the market. The repurchase of Mr. Yoshida’s has become one of the most talked about moves of 2024 in the food industry. Its return to stores like Costco, Sam’s Club, Safeway and Albertson’s, and its entry into Amazon, have been key to its rebirth. In just a few months, the company has projected to reach sales of $7 million by the end of 2024, which is equivalent to what Kraft Heinz earned from the brand before its sale.
The secret of the sauce remains the same: a slow cooking process that brings out its unique flavor, something Heinz stopped doing when it took over. ‘We simmer the sauce because that’s where its flavor develops,’ Yoshida explains.
Now, the founder tells Forbes, the company is ready to expand further. My goal now is to keep growing. I want to keep my name alive,’ says Yoshida, who already has a succession plan in place to ensure that his legacy lives on. In the meantime, he continues to enjoy the renaissance of his brand, which has begun to unseat other competitors on platforms such as Amazon, where it recently ranked as one of the top-selling sauces.
Mr. Yoshida’s comeback is not only a story of commercial success, but also of determination and passion with which he has managed to revive a brand that had fallen into oblivion.
