Mina Ishiwatari
Vice president
Hoppy Beverage Co

Bubbling with enthusiasm

TOKYO —

Mina Ishiwatari thought her mission in life was to find a groom, but changed her mind when her father received a license to brew craft beer.

Her father Koichi, who is president of Hoppy Beverage Co, started turning out ‘‘jibiru’’ (locally brewed beer) after he obtained a license to produce liquor from the Musashi-Fuchu tax office on the outskirts of Tokyo in 1995.

That proved to be a watershed in her life. Until then Hoppy Beverage, headquartered in Tokyo’s Akasaka district, was known as the maker of a carbonated drink called ‘‘Hoppy’’ made from hops and malt that imbibers mix with ‘‘shochu’’ spirits.

Many tipplers still do at ‘‘izakaya’’ pubs.

As the only child of the company’s founding family, Ishiwatari thought ‘‘my mission was to find a groom.’’ But she said she began thinking it would be ‘‘interesting to produce beer when Father got the license’’ and decided to take over his business someday.

Now vice president, she is officially scheduled to become the third-generation president of the company next March on the 100th anniversary of its establishment by her grandfather Hide.

‘‘My goal is to make the company shine even though it is small,’’ Ishiwatari said of the carbonic beverage and beer maker, which has 51 employees.

It took her a year to persuade her father to accept her as his employee. In the 12 years since she joined Hoppy Beverage at the age 29, she has grappled with issues of human-resource training and organizational reform.

Ishiwatari, who goes by the nickname, ‘‘Hoppy Mina,’’ has also studied under a management professional. She put what she learned into practice, when, in an audacious effort to reshape the company, she forced employees to clean the toilets with their bare hands to emphasize the importance of hard work and dedication.

The factory manager came to see her one day and submitted letters of resignations from all factory workers. She settled the trouble amicably, later reflecting that she had been too hasty in trying to make changes, and had not considered the employees’ feelings.

Despite the problems she encountered, she has managed to increase the company’s annual turnover to 3.5 billion yen, a four-fold increase in seven years.

And, as a result of her search for people who conform to her sense of values, Ishiwatari has also succeeded in rejuvenating Hoppy Beverage. Today, 80% of the employees are made up of those who joined the firm less than five years ago.

Now, she said, she takes pride in having a closer relationship with company personnel and her daily routine is to greet all employees in a loud clear voice.

She also said she plans to bolster production facilities.

Referring to the company’s centennial, she said enthusiastically, ‘‘It will be the start of the next centenary.’’

› Login to comment

Latest 15 of 33 Total Comments Show All

pawatan at 03:15 PM JST - 5th November

Nobody drinks Hoppy straight, you always mix it with shochu. Tastes nice that way but by itself, no way.
illsayit at 10:48 PM JST - 5th November

How much is the license? There is plenty of makers, having a license is a different story. No more licensing!
Makkun70 at 02:05 PM JST - 6th November

Wake me up when Miss Vodka's here will you please!
mummet at 11:31 AM JST - 7th November

And, as a result of her search for people who conform to her sense of values

What cleaning toilets with their bare hands?

Today, 80% of the employees are made up of those who joined the firm less than five years ago.

So she sacked the majority of staff probably denying them any renumeration She sounds like a horrible human being but J business is J business.
Sarge at 11:41 AM JST - 7th November

I tried Hoppy once. I didn't like it.
GW at 06:46 PM JST - 8th November

sarge

you need to add shochu!!
alkaiser at 11:55 PM JST - 8th November

Maybe after 10 Hoppy, she's kinda attractive....Not!
anthony39 at 02:43 AM JST - 9th November

This article is about the best piece of negative marketing i have ever read !!
Eyeblack at 03:23 PM JST - 9th November

I'm not interested to drink beer from a company whose people do not wear rubber gloves when cleaning a toilet. Extremely disgusting and somewhat tyrannical.
cow76 at 08:46 PM JST - 9th November

Yep, no Hoppy for me, ever. Not that I've ever heard of it but the words 'toilet' and 'Hoppy' will always go together in my mind. This woman sounds like a money grubbing cow.
hudagree at 07:26 PM JST - 10th November

Probably a good idea for her since her shelf life is bubbling away. But who knows the future anyway?
Nessie at 07:33 PM JST - 10th November

Yeah, the beer takes like crap to me. I would say some of her management ideas suck too but the numbers don`t lie.

I wonder if changes to the alcohol tax laws had anything to do with this.
Nessie at 07:34 PM JST - 10th November

"Hoppy Beer - made by people who cleaned toilets with their bare hands."

One o' dem turd category beers, eh?
WhatMeWorry at 11:45 PM JST - 10th November

Actually, scrubbing the toilets with bare hands (and a pumice stone) is nothing new in Japan. I saw a TV program where teachers and staff at some school do it annually to build team spirit and dedication. Typical Japan, something extreme, borderline and "abusive" to prove their samurai spirit (short of hari kiri).
Hirota56 at 07:45 AM JST - 14th November

Oh no another bubble that will burst