Pocari Sweat

{{Infobox brand

| name = Pocari Sweat

| logo = Pocari Sweat logo.png

| logo_upright =

| logo_caption =

| image = 160px

| image_upright =

| alt = 4

| producttype = Sports drink

| producedby = Otsuka Pharmaceutical

| country = Japan

| introduced = {{start date and age|1980}}

| discontinued =

| previousowners =

| trademarkregistrations =

| ambassadors =

| tagline =

| website = [https://trypocari.com/ https://trypocari.com/]

| module =

| module1 =

}}

{{nihongo|Pocari Sweat|{{langx|ja|ポカリスエット}}|Pokari Suetto}} is a Japanese sports drink, manufactured by Otsuka Pharmaceutical. It was launched in 1980, and is mostly well known across Asia and the Middle East; it is also available in East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, Mexico{{Cite web|url=https://www.pocarisweat.com.mx/|title=POCARI SWEAT México {{!}} Bebida Hidratante de origen Japonés|website=www.pocarisweat.com.mx|access-date=2020-04-01}} and the United States.{{Cite web |title=Pocari Sweat: Electrolyte Replacement Hydration Drink |url=https://trypocari.com/ |access-date=2024-06-04 |website=Try Pocari |language=en}}

Pocari Sweat is a mild-tasting, relatively light {{clarify|date=April 2024}}, non-carbonated sweet beverage and is advertised as an "ion supply drink", "refreshment water" (1992), "body request" (1999), and "electrolyte beverage" in Thailand. It has a mild grapefruit flavor with little aftertaste. Ingredients listed are Sugar (Japan-processed), high fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, salt / acidulant, fragrance, potassium chloride, calcium lactate, flavor enhancer (amino acids), magnesium chloride, antioxidants (vitamin C).https://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/nutraceutical/products/pocarisweat/ Click on a product to see the list of ingredients. It is sold in aluminium cans, PET bottles, and as a powder for mixing with water. An artificially sweetened version with reduced sugar called {{nihongo|Pocari Sweat Ion Water|ポカリスエットイオンウォーター|Pokari Suetto Ion Wōtā}} is also sold.{{cite web|url=http://review.kakaku.com/review/S0000030098/ |title=価格.com - 大塚製薬ポカリスエットイオンウォーターレビュー評価・評判|language=ja|access-date=31 March 2014|archive-date=31 March 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331130250/http://review.kakaku.com/review/S0000030098/ }}

History

Pocari Sweat was launched in 1980 in Japan by Rokuro Harima, an Otsuka Pharmaceutical employee who came up with the idea after observing a doctor drink IV solution to rehydrate.{{cite news |last1=Jozuka |first1=Emiko |title=The 'Sweat' you drink: Inside the meteoric rise of Asia's answer to Gatorade |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/01/business/japan-pocari-sweat-branding-hnk-intl-dst/index.html |access-date=23 October 2020 |work=CNN |date=3 August 2020}} Harima had taken a trip to the hospital after getting diarrhea during a business trip to Mexico, and wondered if a drink could provide both the water and nutrients he needed to recover.{{Cite web|last=Ryall|first=Julian|date=2019-11-30|title=The Pocari Sweat story: from odd name to iconic sports drink|url=https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3039792/pocari-sweat-how-iconic-sports-drink-huge-asia-became-one|access-date=2021-05-03|website=South China Morning Post|language=en}}

Wary of Gatorade's dominance of the United States market, Pocari Sweat focused on expansion into Asia and the Middle East. In 1982, it was exported overseas for the first time, to Hong Kong and Taiwan, followed the next year by Singapore, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia. By the mid-1990s, Pocari Sweat had become Japan's first domestically produced non-alcoholic drink to ship over $1 billion in product.

Name

The reference to sweat in the name of the beverage might have a somewhat off-putting or mildly humorous connotation for some English speakers. However, the name was chosen by the manufacturers originally for the purpose of marketing the product as a sports drink in Japan,[https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1121&context=gbl Global Business Languages], pp.18-19 Tracy L. Melin, Nina M. Ray, 2005 where English words are used differently. It was largely derived from the notion of what it is intended to supply to the drinker: all of the nutrients and electrolytes lost when sweating.{{cite web|url=http://iteslj.org/Articles/Maeda-Loanwords.html|title=Maeda-Use/Misuse of Loan-words|website=iteslj.org}}{{cite book |author=Herbig, Paul A. |title=Handbook of cross-cultural marketing |publisher=International Business Press |location=Binghamton, NY |year=1998 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/handbookofcrossc0000herb/page/3 3] |isbn=0-7890-0154-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofcrossc0000herb/page/3 }} The first part of the name, Pocari, gives a refreshing impression. Otsuka Pharmaceutical's website states: {{" '}}Pocari' was named for its light nuance and bright sound, and it has no particular meaning."[https://www.otsuka.co.jp/faq/pocarisweat/01.html ポカリスエット], Otsuka Pharmaceutical. Original Japanese: 「ポカリ」は、語感の軽い明るい響きを持つ言葉としてつけたもので、特別な意味はありません。[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye5iHnmz5XU "History of Pocari Sweat" by PocariID] (in Indonesian). YouTube. Uploaded on 17 March 2011.

Marketing

Pocari Sweat has maintained the same blue-and-white color scheme since its inception in 1980. Originally sold in a 245 mL can, it has been sold primarily in bottle form since 1990.

Otsuka began a targeted marketing campaign in Indonesia after an outbreak of dengue fever in 2010, promoting the drink to prevent dehydration, a common symptom of the disease.

On 15 May 2014, Pocari Sweat started a project to send a "dream capsule" to the Moon with the help of Quantum Aerospace. The capsule was made in the same shape as a Pocari Sweat can and filled with Pocari Sweat powder. It was intended to be the first commercial product advertised on the Moon.[http://www.techinasia.com/astroscale-pocari-sweat-send-drinks-dreams-moon-2015/ Pocari Sweat is putting the first ever ad on the lunar surface], techinasia.com Originally scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in October 2015,[http://www.devicemag.com/2014/05/20/sports-drink-set-for-moon-mission-but-why/ Sports Drink Set for Moon Mission; But, Why?], devicemag.com it was flown on the Astrobotic Technology lander Peregrine that failed to reach the Moon and burned in the Earth's atmosphere in January 2024.{{Cite news |last=Belam |first=Martin |date=2024-01-08 |title=Nasa Peregrine 1 launch: Vulcan Centaur rocket carrying Nasa moon lander lifts off in Florida – live updates |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/live/2024/jan/08/nasa-peregrine-1-launch-rocket-moon-latest-news-updates-live |access-date=2024-01-08 |work=the Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{cite magazine |last1=Galchen |first1=Rivka |title=The Race to Develop the Moon |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/05/06/the-race-to-develop-the-moon |access-date=2 March 2020 |magazine=The New Yorker |date=29 April 2019}}{{cite web |title=Moon Manifest |url=https://www.astrobotic.com/lunar-delivery/manifest/ |website=Astrobotic |access-date=22 June 2022}}{{cite news |last=Williams|first=Tom |date=2024-01-19 |title=US company's failed Peregrine Moon lander believed to have burned up after re-entry over Australia |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-19/peregrine-moon-lander-astrobotic-burned-up-re-entry-australia/103368240 |access-date=2024-05-11 |work=ABC News}}

The company also has done extensive advertising through anime. The technical director for the film Your Name helped create a 2019 anime-styled advertisement. Pocari Sweat released a January 2021 special episode of the Cells at Work! anime promoting the drink as a way to prevent heat stroke.{{Cite web|title=your name. Technical Director Makes Pocari Sweat Anime Ad|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2019-10-29/your-name-technical-director-makes-pocari-sweat-anime-ad/.152762|access-date=2021-01-06|website=Anime News Network|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Dennison|first=Kara|title=Cells at Work! and Pocari Sweat Team up to Help You Stay Hydrated|url=https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2019/07/08-1/cells-at-work-and-pocari-sweat-team-up-to-help-you-stay-hydrated|access-date=2021-01-06|website=Crunchyroll|date=8 July 2019 |language=en-us}}

References

External links

[https://pocarisweat.jp/ Official website]
[https://www.otsuka.co.jp/nutraceutical/products/pocarisweat/ Pocari Sweat in Otsuka's website] (Japanese and English)
[https://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/nutraceutical/about/rehydration/ionsupply/pocarisweat/ History of the development of Pocari Sweat] (English)

Category:1980 establishments in Japan

Category:Japanese drink brands

Category:Otsuka Pharmaceutical

Category:Products introduced in 1980

Category:Sports drinks