>Tokyo-based Sakumaseika Co said on Wednesday that it would go out of business in January due to rising production costs, a labour shortage and a drop in sales of its main product “Sakuma’s Drops.”
>The future of Sakumaseika’s 100 or so employees remained uncertain, a company representative said. The company declined to comment further.
>
>Established in 1908 by confectioner Sojiro Sakuma, Sakumaseika produced the candy through the air raids of World War Two, inspiring anime giant Studio Ghibli to immortalize it in its 1988 film “Grave of the Fireflies.”
>In that film, set during the war, an orphaned girl struggling to survive with her brother, carries with her the red can of Sakuma’s Drops – one of the siblings’ few possessions after their house is destroyed.
>
>Near double-digit wholesale inflation and a weak yen have squeezed profits at many food producers. In January, the maker of popular corn snack Umaibo raised prices for the first time since the snack’s 1979 debut, making national headlines.
>Sakumaseika suffered a net loss of more than 150 million yen ($1-million) in the 2021 financial year, according to credit survey firm Tokyo Shoko Research, which first reported the company’s closure on Wednesday.
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Filed November 9, 2022 19:45 GMT+9.
Excerpt:
>Tokyo-based Sakumaseika Co said on Wednesday that it would go out of business in January due to rising production costs, a labour shortage and a drop in sales of its main product “Sakuma’s Drops.”
>The future of Sakumaseika’s 100 or so employees remained uncertain, a company representative said. The company declined to comment further.
>
>Established in 1908 by confectioner Sojiro Sakuma, Sakumaseika produced the candy through the air raids of World War Two, inspiring anime giant Studio Ghibli to immortalize it in its 1988 film “Grave of the Fireflies.”
>In that film, set during the war, an orphaned girl struggling to survive with her brother, carries with her the red can of Sakuma’s Drops – one of the siblings’ few possessions after their house is destroyed.
>
>Near double-digit wholesale inflation and a weak yen have squeezed profits at many food producers. In January, the maker of popular corn snack Umaibo raised prices for the first time since the snack’s 1979 debut, making national headlines.
>Sakumaseika suffered a net loss of more than 150 million yen ($1-million) in the 2021 financial year, according to credit survey firm Tokyo Shoko Research, which first reported the company’s closure on Wednesday.
>^Reporting ^by ^Kantaro ^Komiya, ^Daniel ^Leussink, ^Issei ^Kato
The Globe and Mail/Reuters
Seita!
That’s a shame. But the last line in the story says it all. They haven’t managed to evolve.