MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani partners with Japanese green tea brand
ITO EN
ITO EN, a Japanese green tea company, launched a marketing campaign featuring “Shohei Ohtani” in South Korea on April 30. a letter beginning with “Dear Shohei Ohtani,” which was simultaneously published in major media outlets in South Korea and other countries with high baseball popularity – The Chosunilbo in South Korea, the New York Times and the Washington Post in the U.S., the Yomiuri Shimbun and the Nihon Keizai Shimbun in Japan, the Daily Telegraph and the Herald Sun in Australia – in their languages. Shohei Ohtani, a former MVP of Major League Baseball, is a literally “superstar” who recently signed a 10-year, $700 million (about 92.4 billion won) contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Being a brand ambassador for Porsche and BOSS, he signed a global partnership with the green tea brand this time.
Ohtani became an ambassador for Oi Ocha, a green tea beverage produced by ITO EN and distributed by Nongshim in South Korea. Oi Ocha is renowned as the world’s top-selling green tea beverage, with over 43 billion units sold in more than 40 countries since its launch in 1989. In South Korea, Nongshim has been handling the distribution of the beverage since 2010 and is strengthening its collaboration with ITO EN. Last year, ITO EN introduced “drinkable cold ramen” in partnership with Nongshim, leveraging the concept of “Nongshim Dungji Naengmyeon (Korean Cold Noodles).”
The Japanese green tea brand entered into this global partnership with Ohtani due to his reputation for rigorous self-care, which resonates with Oi Ocha’s image as a health-conscious beverage. The supportive letter expressed gratitude for his remarkable performance and offered the product to help him relax. “I have been a big fan of Oi Ocha since my time in Japan, and it has remained an important companion to me even in my life in America,” Ohtani commented on the product on Apr. 30. through ITO EN.