Kikkoman to Launch 100% Vegetarian Oyster Flavoured Sauce Made for India in June 

MUMBAI: The world’s leading and Japan’s number one producer of naturally brewed soy sauce, Kikkoman Corporation, has announced to launch 100% vegetarian, suitable for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians Kikkoman Oyster Flavoured Sauce for the first time in India.

Kikkoman Oyster Flavoured Sauce is likely to be available in India in June initially in the HORECA market, followed by the retail market.

Kikkoman Oyster Flavoured Sauce is the result of two years of intensive development to bring a new purpose-designed product to the Indian market. It is backed by years of experience arising from Kikkoman’s history spanning over 350 years.

The R&D teams spread across Japan, Singapore and India began their work in early 2020, around the time of the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. With travel restrictions making it impossible for the teams to travel, they worked separately in their own labs and collaborated on multiple taste-trials including with professional chefs in India. The team was able to successfully develop a product tailor-made for India, with a truly superb and authentic flavour profile. Kikkoman Oyster Flavoured Sauce is carefully crafted, delicious, packed with flavour, and set to become the standard oyster flavoured sauce in India.

The secret of the new Kikkoman Oyster Flavoured Sauce is the fact that it uses Kikkoman Soy Sauce as the key base ingredient. Using Kikkoman Soy Sauce adds depth and complexity to the vegetarian oyster flavour, creating a profound taste and aroma, to the point that it matches, or even exceeds, the taste of the most popular non-vegetarian oyster sauce. In other words, the product is so good that even non-vegetarians will opt to use it instead of the non-vegetarian oyster sauces currently found in the market. Kikkoman Oyster Flavoured Sauce for India has the perfect balance, or the so-called “golden ratio”, where salty, sweet, and umami are in harmony.

India has a diverse set of vegetarians belonging to many and varied communities and we at Kikkoman are committed to bringing more delicious experiences to all vegetarians. Kikkoman Oyster Flavoured Sauce perfectly accommodates all vegetarians who love their stir-fries and noodles. It can be used in all vegetarian dishes, including paneer and tofu.

Indeed, professional chefs in India have already started to use the 100% vegetarian Kikkoman Oyster Flavoured Sauce in their non-vegetarian dishes as well, such is the excellent flavour profile.

An important aspect of cooking with Kikkoman Oyster Flavoured Sauce is to combine it with Kikkoman Soy Sauce. This combination ensures the heightening of taste for all dishes, to further draw out the natural flavours of the ingredients. In fact, our product label for Kikkoman Oyster Flavoured Sauce states this fact: “Very Tasty with Kikkoman Soy Sauce”.

Professional chefs in India who have switched to Kikkoman Soy Sauce and also additionally decided to switch to Kikkoman Oyster Flavoured Sauce as a result of participating in taste trials before the launch, commented as follows: “So Amazing. Delicious.“,

“Excellent. When I compare it with other brands, Kikkoman Oyster Flavoured Sauce is nice and intense, has less salt and more flavour”, and “Got perfect umami flavour. It will be a big hit like Kikkoman Soy Sauce. Made a few Chinese and Japanese dishes, the result was very good.”

Yosuke Hiraiwa, General Manager, Kikkoman Marketing & Planning Asia Pte Ltd, one of the key people behind the development of Kikkoman Oyster Flavoured Sauce, commented: “Kikkoman Oyster Flavoured Sauce made for India has been able to find the perfect balance of salty, sweet, and umami. Its development took more than two years, and the key to the perfect balance is the use of Kikkoman Soy Sauce as its base. We were able to add depth

and complexity, mirroring the authentic flavour of oysters, creating a deep taste and aroma, making it as authentic as non-vegetarian oyster sauce. Kikkoman aims to enrich people’s lives and create delicious memories through food. With Kikkoman Oyster Flavoured Sauce, we hope that many vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike will enjoy a variety of cuisines such as Chinese, Asian, and Indian Chinese, together with family and friends.

Kikkoman recently launched its Honjozo Authentic Soy Sauce Experience throughout India, which has been much talked about in the food industry and the restaurant business. Hundreds of chefs have been brainstorming over how to incorporate Kikkoman Soy Sauce into their kitchens to enrich popular dishes and create new ones. The addition of Kikkoman Oyster Flavoured Sauce, the second product after Kikkoman Soy Sauce, is the start of an exciting range of products for India that are set to create further delicious experiences.