From the “Japanese Tea Day” (1st October) established by ITO EN, we propose a new custom of giving tea to your loved ones together with Shohei Ohtani. “Green Tea for Family” will launch on Monday 23rd September!
ITO EN Ltd. (President and Representative Director: Daisuke Honjo, Headquarters: Shibuya, Tokyo), the world’s No.1 unsweetened green tea beverage brand “Oi Ocha”* launched a social contribution project “Green Tea for Good” with our Global Ambassador Shohei Ohtani in June 2024. Now we will launch “Green Tea for Family”, a new tradition to gift some tea to someone special from September 23, 2024. And as part of this initiative, a campaign will start which allows people to send a tea gift set and a message to their loved ones (Family), so that they can connect their thought and deepen their bonds in this age where there is a distance between people.
Along with the campaign, new season visuals of Shohei Ohtani in traditional Japanese clothing will be released and life-sized cutout of Ohtani in traditional Japanese clothing will appear at the storefronts in all 47 prefectures of the country from ‘Japanese Tea Day’ October 1.
Green Tea for Family【Give the gift of tea to your loved ones】Campaign URL：https://www.itoen.jp/greenteaforgood/en/greenteaforfamily/
Shohei Ohtani× Oi Ocha Special Website URL：https://www.itoen.jp/oiocha/ohtani/en.html
■ “Let’s gift some tea and a message to your loved one（Family）” A new type of gift campaign will begin ahead of October 1, ‘Japanese Tea Day’!
ITO EN has established October 1st each year as ‘Japanese Tea Day,’ commemorating the day in 1587 when Toyotomi Hideyoshi hosted the ‘Grand Kitano Tea Ceremony’ in Kyoto, where people of all social statuses enjoyed tea together. In the past, we have held large-scale tasting events at mass retailers nationwide on this day, participated in the ‘Chaiku’ tea education project by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries to promote tea dietary education, and have provided teapots to elementary and junior high schools to increase opportunities for students to learn about tea.
This year, as part of the social contribution project with Shohei Ohtani, “Green Tea for Good,” we are launching a new type of gift campaign themed “Let’s gift some tea and a message to your loved one (Family)” allowing participants to send a gift to someone important, by entering a message and completing the application, starting from Monday, September 23.
Through this initiative we propose a new custom of giving tea, aiming to contribute to solving social issues caused by the psychological distance felt with the increase in digital communication and the decrease in the number of people in the household.
In this age where there is a distance between people, why not send a tea gift set and a message through “Green Tea for Family” to those dear to you and to those you wish to deepen your bonds with?
■Green Tea for Family Concept
“ Green Tea for Family” is a new custom of giving the gift of tea to your loved one with gratitude. A project launched by Ito En and Shohei Otani to commemorate “Japanese Tea Day” on October 1. This is a part of the “Green Tea for Good” social contribution project. Deliver a heart-warming moment to those dear to you and to those whom you would like to deepen your bond with.
■Shohei Ohtani in traditional Japanese clothing appears! New Season Visuals Released.
We are pleased to announce the new season visuals of Shohei Ohtani in traditional Japanese clothing, relaxing in a tea field with a green tea bottle in his hand. This creative is designed based on the theme of respect and gratitude for the majestic tea field which give us time to relax with tea.
Please also note the expression on Otani’s face as he thinks of his ‘Family’ who live far away from him. The new season visuals will appear as the life-sized cutouts and other in-store tools in 47 prefectures across Japan.
■ About the “Green Tea for Family” campaign
“Green Tea for Family【Give the gift of tea to your loved ones】campaign” aims to connect the thoughts and deepen their bond in this age where there is a distance between people , as part of social contribution project “Green Tea for Good”. The campaign is a social gift-type campaign in which anyone can participate easily by just entering a message to the loved ones (family) to whom they wish to send a gift through online. The same product will be sent to the senders as well as their loved ones.
At the same time, “Shohei Otani’s original My Bottle Giveaway campaign! “ a must-buy campaign, which customers can win the prize by purchasing eligible Oi Ocha brand products. With this must-buy campaign 1000 people can win the Ohtani’s Original My Bottle with his autograph printed in lottery.
This is a great opportunity to take participate in.
Green Tea for Family【Give the gift of tea to your loved ones】campaign Outline
How to apply:
① Apply through the campaign website
URL https://www.itoen.jp/greenteaforgood/greenteaforfamily/
・Access to the campaign website
・Apply the campaign application form on the website
② Apply through “X”
・Follow Oi Ocha official X account（@oiochakun）
・Post a message to the other person using the dedicated hashtag, 「#大切な人へお茶を贈ろう (Give the gift of tea to your loved ones)」
Number of winners： 500 pairs, total 1,000 people
Application Period： September 23,2024（Mon）8:00AM ～ October 31st,2024（Thu）23:59PM
Announcement： We will contact to the winners at the e-mail address entered. To those enter through “X”, We will contact to the winners’ X account via DM. Announcement will be around mid-November.
Flow after you win the prize：We will send two URLs to the prize-winners. One URL is for the prize-winner to fulfill his/her address, and another URL is to share with the person he/she would like to send a gift to and fulfill the person’s address.
Gift of tea will be delivered to the prize-winner and his/her loved one.
Prize ： Oi Ocha Gyokuro “HITOTOKI” bottle, “HITOTOKI” drip bag、”HITOTOKI” exclusive glass
Campaign Limited product ”Oi Ocha HITOTOKI”
The bottled green tea using 100% Uji gyokuro, which is characterized by its mellow covering aroma and mild taste, drip bag and glass are specially prepared for this campaign. The name ‘HITOTOKI’ was chosen in the hope that you will spend a happy moment with your loved ones with this tea.
“Shohei Otani’s original My Bottle Giveaway campaign! “ (must-buy campaign) Outline
How to apply：
① Collect the barcodes of eligible Oi Ocha brand products. 6 points per entry.
・ Beverage products: 1 point per barcode
・ Leaf products: 3 point per barcode
② Apply through either campaign application postcards or postcards downloaded from the campaign website or normal postcards. Fulfill the necessary information and attach the barcodes.
③ Send the postcard by post
Number of Winners： 1,000 people
Application Period：September 23,2024（Mon ～ October 31st,2024（Thu）
Postmarked on the same day is valid
Announcement：Winners will be notified by delivery of the prize in the mail. (around the late of December)
Prize：Shohei Ohtani’s original My Bottle with his autograph printed. Winners can choose their preferred combination, a bottle from 5 colors and a lid from 5 colors.
■Initiatives for “Japanese Tea Day” on October 1
Towards “Japanese Tea Day” on October 1, a major event, ‘Japanese Tea Day 2024, Oi Ocha Grand Tea Ceremony – Let’s Have Some Tea’, will be held at approximately 400 stores including mass retailers in 47 prefectures across Japan to bring the tea culture closer to everyone by showcasing the tea’s appealing elements, taste discovery and enjoyment. This year’s event will showcase the appeal of instant tea products, which make it easy to enjoy delicious tea in your busy daily life. With the concept, “Let’s Have Some Tea” on “Japanese Tea Day”, our employees will offer Japanese tea in stores and other locations.
Event title：“Japanese Tea Day 2024, Oi Ocha Grand Tea Ceremony – Let’s Have Some Tea-”
Event date：Starting from September 23, 2024 (Mon)
Venue ：Mass retailers nationwide ※Please check the details on the website
URL ：https://www.itoen.jp/nihonchanohi/
193cm！Life-sized cutout of Shohei Ohtani in Japanese traditional clothing will appear!
At the stores where hold the event ”Japanese Tea Day 2024, Oi Ocha Grand Tea Ceremony ～Let’s Have Some Tea～”, Life-sized cutout of Shohei Ohtani in Japanese traditional clothing will welcome the customers.（Excluding some stores）
“Shake bottle” set with message cards featuring Shohei Ohtani
Set of「Oi Ocha Green Tea Powder with Matcha」,「Oi Ocha Hoji Tea Powder」 and 「Colour-changing Shake Bottle」（３colors）will be sold only for a limited number. Special message cards featuring Shohei Ohtani will be included. (Only 50,000 sets)
Experience the taste “’Melt away green tea stick’ super fast 3-second challenge”
At the event ”Japanese Tea Day 2024, Oi Ocha Grand Tea Ceremony ～Let’s Have Some Tea～”, visitors can make authentic, delicious tea in just three seconds with the bottle at the experience booth. Simply add instant tea and water to the bottle and shake to make a delicious tea immediately. Visitors will be shown how easy it is to make delicious tea.
’Melt away green tea stick’ giveaway!
Customers who experience the event at the ”Japanese Tea Day 2024, Oi Ocha Grand Tea Ceremony ～Let’s Have Some Tea～” will receive a “Oi Ocha Instant Green Tea with Matcha (Melt away green tea stick)”. A total of 100,000 tea sticks will be offered at participating stores in 47 prefectures across Japan. (Please note that the number is limited at each shop.)
■ About “Green Tea for Good”
“Green Tea for Good” is the global Social Contribution Project launching with our Global Ambassador Shohei Ohtani. As a first initiative, a portion of the sales of “Oi Ocha” brand beverages and leaf products will be used for conservation activities, including forest, water, and biodiversity conservation in Japan and overseas. This activity is an update of the “Making Japan Beautiful With Green Tea” project that we have been working on since fiscal 2010 and extend it to the world. This year, under the slogan of “Making the World Beautiful With Green Tea”, we plan to expand the activity with our global ambassador Ohtani and his circle of supporters overseas.
*Guinness World Records™ Certified
Record name: “Largest unsweetened green tea beverage brand (latest annual sales)
Official English record name: Largest unsweetened green tea RTD brand – retail, current
Recorded brand: Oi Ocha brand (excluding Oi Ocha hojicha products)
Year covered: January-December 2023