Yakult is a probiotic product, containing live beneficial bacterial culture. It was the first fermented milk product on the Australian market in 1994 and it’s popularity has grown dramatically in the ensuing decade. But the Yakult business extends beyond this. Yakult has its own baseball team - the Yakult Swallows - which participate in the country's premier baseball competition. The Yakult Swallows won the league championship in 2001. Yakult also has its own rugby team.
Essendon's leadership group met with Mr Yoshikazu Tagiku, President of Yakult Swallows, Mr Yoshihiro Kawabata, Director of the International Business Department and Mr Sugiura, former player for the Swallows. Mr Sugiura was a superstar of the competition playing for 23 years, 1782 games, hitting 224 home runs and ranking 3rd among the all time great of Japanese baseball.
""More than 166,000 bottles of Yakult are consumed in Australia each day and more than 15 million per day worldwide,"" Essendon chief executive Peter Jackson said. ""They want to take their product to as many people as possible – in fact they want to grow consumption to 50 million bottles per day – it is a philosophy very similar to that of the Essendon Football Club.""
""That is what this football club is about. We want to take our product to as many people as possible around Australia and give them an avenue to get involved with their club. There were real synergies and lessons to be learned on and off field.
""We met key executives from the company – in fact they were waiting out the front of their building to welcome us when we got there – they had an Australian flag and a Yakult flag out the front.
""Yakult are big players in the sports’ landscape in Japan. They own a baseball team, a rugby team and an athletics club. They also support athletes who work for them and perform under their banner. They have their own training facilities and accommodation. It is a remarkable set up and we were lucky enough to meet with a number of representatives from their various arms.""
