On Jan. 28 San Gabriel’s program, Future Business Leaders of America, also known as FBLA, hosted a field trip to California’s Yakult Factory. When arriving at the factory, there were two tour guides who welcomed you into the lobby. When entering, you pass by this table where you are able to pick up a coloring page of Yakult Man. There were also Yakult plushies and a range of sizes of plastic Yakult bottles. On the right was a glass casing filled with Anaheim Angel’s gear and photos. The Angel’s have been partnered with Yakult since 2014. As of 2025 Yakult has chosen to also partner with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Firstly, the tour begins with a video playing on a big screen in the lobby. The video discusses how Yakult was made. In Japan, during 1935, Yakult was invented by Dr. Minoru Shirou. He discovered a strain of lactic acid bacteria that could survive digestion and benefit the intestines. To make Yakult they have to add glucose to skimmed milk, heat it up, and then inoculate with the bacteria. Then, mix until fermented followed by adding flavors and sugars. Once the video was done everyone headed upstairs to see another video on the whole history of Yakult. There is this pillar where the video of the history of Yakult plays.
In 1963, is when Yakult began a home delivery using “Yakult lady” employees. The following year Yakult began to sell to other countries beginning with Taiwan. Soon in 1968, they opened their first factory outside of Japan in the city of Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil. Then in 1969, Hong Kong Yakult Co Ltd and Korea Yakult were founded. In 1981, Yakult opened a factory in the city of Ixtapaluca, Mexico under the direction of Carlos Kasuga. Yakult started being sold in Australia, Great Britain, and the US in 1994. After the video, everyone was taken to a display of different Yakult products. It ranged from its original product to yogurts. The most surprising product was that Yakult has a skin care brand.
Soon everyone was able to try the product. Everyone was told to drink the light Yakult before the original product because if you drink the original product first you will find the light Yakult sour. After learning about the benefits, everyone was able to see how the factory works which was separated between different rooms: the green room where the Yakult drink is made, the blue room where a quality check is done, the yellow room where the bottles are made, and the pink room where the product is packaged and delivered. The guides ended the tour with revealing some secrets: Yakult is opening another factory in California, and they started to make Yakult merchandise, from shirts to plushies.
