Yamazaki Baking Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Yamazaki Baking Co., Ltd.
The Headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Native name	山崎製パン株式会社
Romanized name	Yamazaki Seipan kabushiki gaisha
Type	Public (Kabushiki gaisha)
Traded as	TYO: 2212 OSE: 2212
Industry	Food
Founded	21 June 1948; 77 years ago (1948-06-21) Ichikawa, Chiba
Founder	Tojuro Iijima
Headquarters	Iwamotochō, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8585, Japan
Number of locations	107,950 stores
Area served	Asia, Europe, North America
Key people	Nobuhiro Iijima (President)
Products	Bread Sweet buns Confectionery Processed bread Prepared rice
Services	Convenience stores
Revenue	JPY 995.01 billion (FY 2013) (US$ 9.66 billion) (FY 2013)
Net income	JPY 12.04 billion (FY 2013) US$116.8 million million) (FY 2013)
Owner	Iijima family (around 14.38%) Nisshin Seifun Group (5.08%) Oriental Land Company (0.19%)
Number of employees	17,654 (consolidated, as of 31 December 2014)

The Yamazaki Baking Company, Ltd. (also known as Yamazaki Seipan) is a very large Japanese food company. It is one of the biggest bread-baking companies in the world. Yamazaki makes many different products like bread, bakery items, and sweets.

Tojuro Iijima started the company in Japan on March 9, 1948. They began making bread in large amounts in 1955. The Iijima family still runs the company today. Nobuhiro Iijima is the third person from the family to be in charge.

History of Yamazaki Baking
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History of Yamazaki Baking

Yamazaki products are sold in many countries across Asia. These include places like Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and China. This shows how widely their products are enjoyed.

Working with Other Companies

In October 1970, Yamazaki Baking teamed up with two other companies. These were Nabisco from the United States and Nichimen Jitsugyo Corporation (now called Sojitz Corporation). Together, they created a new company called Yamazaki-Nabisco Co., Ltd. This company is now known as Yamazaki Biscuits Co., Ltd., or YBC.

By 1988, Yamazaki Baking owned more of this joint company. They bought more shares from Nabisco, increasing their ownership to 80%.

Expanding to New Brands

In 1991, Yamazaki bought the bakery part of a company called Vie de France. Vie de France started its bakery business in 1971. Later, in 1994, Yamazaki Baking also bought the restaurant part of Vie de France. This restaurant business began in 1978.

Today, Yamazaki runs Vie de France bakeries and restaurants. You can find them in both the United States and Japan. They still use the Vie de France brand name.

Ingredient Choices and Safety

For a long time, until 2014, Yamazaki used an ingredient called potassium bromate in their bread. Most other Japanese baking companies stopped using this ingredient in 1980. They stopped because there were concerns about its safety.

However, in early 2020, Yamazaki started using potassium bromate again. They said they had found a new way to use it. This new method meant that no potassium bromate was left in the final bread product. They tested their bread and found no traces of it, even with very sensitive tests.

Recent Company Changes

In 2016, Yamazaki bought a US company called Bakewise Brands. This company owned popular brands like Fleischer's Bagels and Tom Cat Bakery. This helped Yamazaki grow its business in the United States.

In the same year, Mondelez International ended its partnership with Yamazaki-Nabisco. Mondelez then started making Nabisco biscuits on its own in Japan. They moved the production of these biscuits to China and Indonesia.

A year later, in 2017, Yamazaki (through its YBC company) launched its own version of a popular cookie. They called it "Noir." These cookies are made at the same factory in Ibaraki Prefecture where the original cookies were once produced.