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 A bottle of Calpis Water | |
| Type | Concentrate |
|---|---|
| Inventor | Kaiun Mishima |
| Inception | 1919 |
| Manufacturer | Calpis Co., Ltd. |
| Website | calpis |
| |
Native name | カルピス株式会社 |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Karupisu Kabushiki-gaisha |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Soft drinks |
| Founded | April 1916; 109 years ago (1916-04) |
| Founder | Kaiun Mishima |
| Headquarters | , |
| Parent | Asahi Breweries |
| Website | calpis |
Calpis (Japanese:カルピス,Hepburn:Karupisu), sold in North America asCalpico, is a Japanese probiotic milk beverage manufactured byCalpis Co., Ltd. (カルピス株式会社,Karupisu Kabushiki-gaisha), a subsidiary ofAsahi Breweries headquartered inShibuya,Tokyo.[1] The beverage has a light, somewhatmilky, and slightlyacidic flavour, similar to plain orvanilla-flavouredyogurt orYakult. Its ingredients includewater,dry milk, andlactic acid, and it is produced bylactic acid fermentation.[2]
The drink is sold as aconcentrate, which is mixed with water or sometimes milk just before consumption. A pre-diluted version known asCalpis Water (カルピスウォーター,Karupisu Wōtā), or its carbonated variety, known asCalpis Soda (カルピスソーダ,Karupisu Sōda), is also available. It is also used to flavourkakigōri and as a mixer forcocktails andchūhai.[citation needed]
The founder of Calpis,Kaiun Mishima [ja], travelled toInner Mongolia in 1902, encountering a traditional cultured milk product known asairag (called kumis throughout most of Central Asia). The active ingredient in airag, responsible for its unique flavour, is lactic acid produced by lactobacilli bacteria. After the airag he consumed helped return his digestion to normal, Mishima was inspired to develop his own version.
Daigomi, launched in 1916, was made by culturing cream with lactic acid bacteria. However, it was discontinued because of two major flaws: the amount of cream extracted from milk was inadequate for mass production, and there was a surplus ofskimmed milk created as aby-product. Afterwards, Mishima created Daigoso by culturing skimmed milk with lactic acid bacteria. However, the product was also discontinued because of poor sales. His last unsuccessful attempt was Lacto Caramel, a product that contained live lactic acid bacteria. It was discontinued because the product melted during the summer.[3][4]
Calpis was created by chance when Mishima added sugar to Daigoso and left it overnight. It was officially released on July 7, 1919, at the price of¥1.60 per bottle.[3] Diluting Calpis with water proved to be economical, quickly garnering popularity with customers, along with the catchphrase "the taste of first love".[5] Calpis initially had the image of being a special drink, being reserved for special occasions or gifts; it was only around 1965 that it began to be treated as a normal beverage in ordinary households.[3]
Orange-flavoured Calpis was released in 1958, with pineapple- and grape-flavoured versions following two years later. A carbonated version called Calpis Soda was also released in 1974.[6] In 1973, sales plummeted after the price was raised.[5] Within the first year of its initial release in 1991, 20.5 million cases of pre-diluted Calpis Water had been sold. It was also around this time that the company moved towards the use ofpaper containers andplastic bottles.[6]
The first two iterations of what would become Calpis,Daigomi andDaigoso, were named afterdaigo (醍醐), the Japanese word forsarpir-maṇḍa, regarded as the greatest of all flavours inBuddhism. Mishima wanted to do the same for Calpis and initially named itCalpir, aportmanteau ofcal fromcalcium andpir from sarpir-maṇḍa. However, after consulting musicianKōsaku Yamada and Buddhist priest Kaigyoku Watanabe, Mishima chosepis from theSanskritsarpiṣ instead.[6]
Primarily in North America, the name Calpico is used in place of Calpis to avoid associations with "piss", an Englishslang word forurine (though the "カルピス" inkatakana remains on the packaging).[citation needed]
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Thepolka dot packaging used to consist of white dots against a blue background until the colours were inverted in 1953. The design was intended to represent theMilky Way, in reference to the JapaneseTanabata festival.[6]
In 1919, Calpis held an international poster exhibition in collaboration with theMinistry of Foreign Affairs. The contest was held to provide aid to struggling European painters due toinflation caused by World War I.[3] After German painter Otto Dünkelsbühler won 3rd place, Calpis began using a new logo in 1923 based on his design. It featured an illustration of ablack man with large lips and aPanama hat drinking from a glass using a straw. As the logo came to beconsidered offensive, the black and white were first reversed, and then the logo was subsequently dropped altogether in January 1990. The complaint was initially filed by 12-year-old Futoshi Arita, a member ofThe Association to Stop Racism Against Blacks.[7]
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