From Japan’s brewers to Europe’s tables
Nexthing is a Japan-based holding company connecting East and West. Our first step: bringing traditional Japanese soy sauce brewers together with partners in Europe.
Built on
partnership
Japanese soy sauce, for Europe.
We are building close partnerships with soy sauce brewers across Japan, many of them family businesses that have refined their craft over generations. Now we are looking for European distributors, importers and food partners to bring their soy sauce to new tables, with its character intact.
Close to the brewers. We are based in Japan and work with producers directly.
Respect for the craft. We never ask a brewer to change what makes their soy sauce theirs.
A bridge for both sides. We connect language, culture and business practice, so both sides can work with confidence.
Eight centuries
in every drop
History
Japanese soy sauce traces back about 800 years to Yuasa, in Wakayama. The monk Kakushin brought a miso recipe home from China, and the liquid that pooled in its barrels became Japan’s first soy sauce.
Brewed
patiently
Craftsmanship
Traditional brewers let their soy sauce ferment over many months. Some still age it in cedar barrels for up to two years. Only about 1% of Japan’s soy sauce is still made this way.
Honest
ingredients
Four simple ingredients.
Traditional Japanese soy sauce is brewed from just soybeans, wheat, salt and water. Time and craft do the rest.
Why
now
Europe has already found its taste for Japan.
Japan’s food exports have set a new record for 13 years running, and soy sauce keeps climbing with them. Exports to the EU are growing even faster than the total, and Europe’s appetite for Japanese soy sauce is still rising.
Japan’s food exports: 13 record years, soy sauce rising
Japan’s soy sauce exports (¥ billion)
¥1.7 trillion
Japan’s agri-food exports in 2025, up 12.8% year on year
¥99.7 billion
Of which exports to the EU, up 16.2%
¥35.3 billion
Kikkoman’s Europe soy sauce revenue, FY2026 (¥26.7 billion two years earlier)
Sources: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), JETRO, Kikkoman financial results. The 2023 soy sauce figure is derived from 2024 year-on-year growth.
Our
promise
Preserving tradition. Finding its next table.
Japan still has more than 1,000 local soy sauce breweries, and many are small, family-run businesses. We respect how they work and the time their soy sauce takes. Our role is to find the partners who will carry their flavour to the next generation of cooks and diners.
About
Nexthing
Always looking to the next market.
Soy sauce is only the beginning. We look for Japanese companies with something special to offer, and help them find the right partners in new markets.
Led by Milan Chiang, CEO, and Bessie Lee, Chief Representative of International Business.
Let’s bring Japanese soy sauce to your market
Are you a distributor, importer, retailer or chef in Europe? Tell us about your business and we will get back to you.