OISHI COMING TO AMERICA

Tim is a big fan of Oishi brand green teas; I personally love the lemon-flavored tea and have tried several of their fruit juices (marketed under the Amino brand name).  The company began selling the bottled drinks just six years ago after customers of the popular restaurants requested take-home versions of the tea (originally, they were sold in plain plastic bags).  Despite the Japanese name and specialization in green tea, Oishi is 100% a Thai company.  The main factory in Rathaburi fills 200,000 bottles every day.

So, it is with some interest that I watched an interview with this company's CFO this morning on the Andaman News (part of an hour every day of English-language television on channel 11) announcing that Oishi had just won FDA approval and will begin exporting it's drink line to America in the near future.  The launch will occur sometime next month in a place soon to be announced.  I highly recommend my American friends and family should try to seek out these products; you won't be disappointed.

(BTW, other products that are common in America that many there don't know are Thai in origin include the Red Bull and Von Dutch energy drinks; Red Bull was developed as something to keep the long-distance bus- and truck-drivers awake in the middle of the night and I can vouch that the Thai version is very strong while the American version doesn't have near the kick!)