Mizkan Awarded "Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office Award" at the FY2026 "Intellectual Property Achievement Award"!

At the FY2026 Intellectual Property Achievement Award ceremony (April 17, 2026)
(From left: Mikiya Kishi, Group Innovation Center Head, Mizkan Holdings Co., Ltd.; Masahisa Hamana, Director, Mizkan Holdings Co., Ltd.; Junichiro Ihara, Patent Team Leader, Basic Research Department, Group Innovation Center, Mizkan Holdings Co., Ltd.)

Mizkan Group (Headquarters: Handa City, Aichi Prefecture) received the Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office Award in the "IP Utilization Company (Patent)" category at the FY2026 "Intellectual Property Achievement Award," hosted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Japan Patent Office.
This award highly recognizes Mizkan's intellectual property strategy, which has utilized patents not merely as rights for technical protection but as management assets to foster business and and brands. Furthermore, receiving this award in the "IP Utilization Company (Patent)" category, where examples of food-related companies are limited, signifies that our intellectual property utilization in the food sector is at an advanced level.

About the Award
Award Name: Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office Award, IP Utilization Company (Patent)
Company Name: Mizkan Holdings Co., Ltd.

Points of Evaluation
Mizkan manufactures and sells household and commercial food products, primarily vinegar, ponzu, and natto, across the entire group. In 2019, we also launched "ZENB" (Figure 1), a brand that extracts deliciousness and nutrition by using as much of the entire plant (vegetables and beans), including peels and cores, as possible, proposing new food options that consider health and the environment. To support these initiatives, we utilize technologies and innovations that are strengths of our products and brands as intellectual property. This Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office Award specifically recognized Mizkan for the following three points in intellectual property utilization:

1. IP Strategy Centered on Enhancing Brand Value
At Mizkan, the intellectual property department is involved from the product and brand planning stages. They identify "technologies that support product strengths and appeal to customers" early on, evaluate technologies from the perspective of whether they contribute to enhancing brand value, and protect them preferentially with patents. Furthermore, by utilizing these technologies in PR and sales activities at the time of product launch, intellectual property is not merely kept as a right but contributes to accumulating value in the brand and to business activities. This IP strategy was highly evaluated this time.

2. Collaboration with Partners and Market Development Leveraging IP
Challenging new markets in the food industry often involves functions and sales channels that are difficult to fully equip on one's own. Therefore, Mizkan has leveraged crushing and processing technologies cultivated through its "ZENB" business as intellectual property, promoting collaboration with partners specializing in various fields such as vegetable procurement, manufacturing, logistics, and retail. This award recognized that by proposing measures to not only protect but also jointly utilize intellectual property to partners, Mizkan has expanded collaborations and led to the development of new markets that would be difficult to enter independently.

Figure 1: ZENB brand product image

3. Utilization of Patent Portfolio for Management and Business
Mizkan utilizes patents as a tool for understanding the technological environment as follows, and was recognized for leveraging IP not merely as a right but as an information asset that supports management and business decision-making.
- Confirmation of application necessity through patent portfolio analysis and as a basis for judging collaboration possibilities.
- Material for explaining the company's technical strengths and synergies through collaboration during negotiations with other companies.

Figure 2: Patent portfolio analysis conceptual diagram "Analysis of strengths and weaknesses of patent domains held by Mizkan and a competitor (Company X) in specific technological fields."
Figure 3: Analysis based on "Patent Score (patent analysis tool 'Biz Cruncher')" which scores the attention level of individual patents for all "seasoning-related technologies" (theme code: 4B047) disclosed by the Japan Patent Office.

Reference
■ About the Intellectual Property Achievement Award:
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Japan Patent Office annually present "Awards for Individuals Contributing to the Development and Promotion of the Intellectual Property System" to individuals who have contributed to the development, dissemination, and enlightenment of the intellectual property rights system, and "Awards for Excellent Companies Utilizing the Intellectual Property System" to companies that have effectively utilized the system and contributed to its smooth operation and development. Both the METI Minister's Award and the JPO Commissioner's Award are collectively referred to as the "Intellectual Property Achievement Award."