Tsunan Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tsunan Town, Niigata Prefecture, CEO: Kengo Suzuki, hereinafter referred to as Tsunan Sake Brewery) has conducted sake taste evaluations of its existing brands by leveraging on ProfilePrint an AI-driven ingredient quality platform distributed by NOMURA JIMUSHO, INC. (hereinafter referred to as NOMURA JIMUSHO). NOMURA JIMUSHO is the distributor of this new sensory evaluation solution, developed by ProfilePrint Pte. Ltd. based in Singapore. Using the existing A.I. evaluation model trained by NOMURA JIMUSHO and SAKE SERVICE INSTITUTE, a rapid analysis of eight brands owned by Tsunan Sake Brewery was conducted using ProfilePrint’s solution to confirm their sensory profiles.
The ProfilePrint solution realizes rapid food sensory evaluation, previously thought to be achievable only by humans, through its patented digital food fingerprint technology and AI learning capabilities. Despite the challenges in evaluating sake sensory, NOMURA JIMUSHO, in cooperation with the SAKE SERVICE INSTITUTE, has managed to quantify even abstract aroma categories and construct a sensory evaluation model that predicts closely the results of professional sake tasters.
This time, Tsunan Sake Brewery conducted a comprehensive evaluation of its own brands with the support of NOMURA JIMUSHO to decide which brands to supply to potential distributors in 2024. This enabled efficient proposals to distribution channels, including overseas, by reinforcing each brand with objective sensory evaluations. These evaluation results will also be referenced for selecting entries for various awards held in 2024.
Tsunan Sake Brewery plans to cooperate in the development of refining the ProfilePrint sake model trained by NOMURA JIMUSHO and to consider utilizing ProfilePrint’s A.I. technology in the sake brewing process within the company
“ProfilePrint” Technology Visualizing Deliciousness
ProfilePrint is an innovative system that digitally quantifies and analyzes the sensory profiles of food by evaluating taste, flavor, aroma, and other characteristics in detail, including the five basic tastes (sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness, umami) and other complex sensory categories like “richness” and “refreshing aroma.” It also evaluates physical properties like moisture content and density. The data is managed in the cloud, making it accessible both domestically and internationally. The system is used for food classification and identification, including quality inspection, grading, product type classification, and variety identification, across food supply chains globally
ProfilePrint’s Sensory Profiling of 33 Sake Varieties
Successful profiling in each sensory category has led to the quantification of even abstract aroma categories, achieving results very close to the evaluations by professional sake tasters.
An Example of Analysis Results for Tsunan Sake Brewery’s Brands
Using the ProfilePrint sake evaluation model trained by NOMURA JIMUSHO, sensory scores were predicted for eight categories, including four aroma categories (floral, refreshing, gentle, rich) and four taste categories (sweetness, sourness, bitterness, umami) for the eight brands produced by Tsunan Sake Brewery.
The figure shows, as an example, brands plotted based on floral and richness. The size of the plot is visualized in proportion to the sweetness score, suggesting the potential to select brands to offer based on customer needs and pairing targets. It also validated the potential for enhancing accuracy in monitoring and providing data input for generative AI models. This complements traditional sensory testing methods and ensures the reproducibility required for sake brewing.
About NOMURA JIMUSHO, INC.
NOMURA JIMUSHO, INC. is a trading company dealing with specialty chemical products, founded in Showa 8 (1933) and established in Showa 39 (1964). Its business includes the import and sale of petroleum refining catalysts and the import and export of specialty chemical products. It handles unique technology-based products in its plastics and life sciences businesses, among others, and is actively engaged in developing new businesses. Since its foundation, the company has valued “human connections.”
https://www.nomjim.co.jp/
About ProfilePrint Pte. Ltd.
ProfilePrint is an AI-driven ingredient quality platform powered by a patented digital food identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) technology. ProfilePrint synthesises complex molecular data of ingredient samples into digital fingerprints, rapidly predicting its identity and quality, helping agribusinesses to buy and sell better. Backed by the world’s largest food ingredient conglomerates and international venture funds, ProfilePrint is a Singapore-based company with a global footprint.
https://www.profileprint.ai
About Tsunan Sake Brewery Co., Ltd.
Tsunan Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. is a sake brewery headquartered in Akinari, Tsunan Town, Nakauonuma District, Niigata Prefecture. Known for its heavy snowfall, the region uses natural spring water from mountains reaching 2,000 meters in elevation for brewing. Utilizing the local sake rice variety “Gohyakumangoku,” the brewery embraces sake production in harmony with nature. With the brand concept “Brew for Future—Brewing a Symbiotic Future,” the brewery has aimed for new value creation and international expansion under a new management structure since 2023.
https://tsunan-sake.com/