Overview
Ajinomoto Co., Inc. is a Japanese food and bioscience company whose businesses include seasonings and foods, frozen foods, healthcare-related products, amino-acid ingredients, and other AminoScience-based solutions. Its best-known product is AJI-NO-MOTO® umami seasoning.[1][2]
The Group’s stated purpose is to contribute to the well-being of people, society, and the planet with “AminoScience,” and its 2030 vision is to create social and economic value through AminoScience.[3][4]
Founded in 1909, Ajinomoto operates across five continents; a company brochure reported operations in 31 countries and regions as of March 31, 2025. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2026, consolidated sales were ¥1,583,719 million, and the Group had 34,787 consolidated employees.[5][6][7][8][9] [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Products & services
Ajinomoto’s consumer and food-service portfolio includes AJI-NO-MOTO® umami seasoning, HONDASHI® dried-bonito dashi, Cook Do® cooking sauces and Knorr® Cup Soup. It also supplies seasonings and ingredients to food-service and food-manufacturing customers, including through its Solution & Ingredients business.[10][11] Frozen-food products include gyoza, with Japanese offerings including standard and microwave-prepared varieties.[12][13][14]
Healthcare and specialty products include pharmaceutical and food amino acids; CELLiST™ cell-culture media for animal-cell biopharmaceutical production; StemFit® media for iPS/ES-cell culture; ABF insulation material for high-performance semiconductor CPU package substrates; and AjiPro™-L, a rumen-protected lysine product designed to deliver lysine to cattle’s small intestine.[15][16][17][18] Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services provides contract development and manufacturing, including process development and GMP manufacturing for pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates.[19]
For FY2025, reported segment sales were ¥936.9 billion for Seasonings & Foods, ¥290.3 billion for Frozen Foods and ¥341.5 billion for Healthcare & Others. Relative to consolidated sales of ¥1,583.7 billion, these are approximately 59.2%, 18.3% and 21.6%, respectively; percentages are calculated from reported figures.[20][8] [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][8]
Geographic presence
In FY2025, ended March 31, 2026, Ajinomoto reported consolidated sales of ¥1,583.7 billion. By region, sales were ¥571.7 billion in Japan (36.1%), ¥464.6 billion in Asia (29.3%), ¥382.4 billion in the Americas (24.1%), and ¥165.0 billion in EMEA (10.4%); percentages are calculated from the reported regional sales and total.[21]
As of March 31, 2026, the group had 121 affiliated companies across 40 countries and regions and 126 factories; the company also reports that its factories operate in 32 countries and regions.[22] Its global directory lists entities across Africa, the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe.[23]
Ajinomoto reported 34,787 consolidated employees as of March 31, 2026; the available figure is not broken down by geography.[9] [21][22][23][9][21][22][23][9]
Business segments
For FY2025, ended March 31, 2026, Ajinomoto reported consolidated sales of ¥1,583,719 million. Its IFRS business segments were Seasonings and Foods, with sales of ¥936,926 million (about 59.2% of consolidated sales), and Frozen Foods, with sales of ¥290,308 million (18.3%). Seasonings and Foods includes seasonings and food products such as umami seasoning, soup, mayonnaise and cooking sauces; Frozen Foods focuses on frozen food products tailored to local eating habits and markets.[21][8][10][12]
Healthcare and Others reported sales of ¥341,504 million (about 21.6%), covering healthcare-related amino-acid materials, pharmaceutical ingredients and technologies, supplements, and functional materials such as electronic materials. The separate Other segment reported ¥14,979 million (about 0.9%); the cited segment disclosures do not provide a more specific focus description for it.[21][15]
Ajinomoto also presents a geographic sales breakdown, distinct from its business segments: Japan 36%, Asia 29%, Americas 24%, and EMEA 11%.[20] [21][8][10][12][15][20][21][8][10][12][15][20]
Company history
Ajinomoto’s origins date to Dr. Kikunae Ikeda’s research on umami and glutamate in 1907–1908, which entrepreneur Saburosuke Suzuki II commercialized as AJI-NO-MOTO®, first sold in 1909. The company’s predecessor, S. Suzuki & Co. Ltd., was established in 1917; it adopted the name Ajinomoto Honpo S. Suzuki & Co., Ltd. in 1925. After wartime name changes, it became Ajinomoto Co., Inc. after World War II and was listed on the stock market in 1949.[5][24][25]
The company expanded internationally from the 1950s, including entry into Brazil in 1956 and the start of production at its Thailand factory in 1961. In 1972, it industrialized amino-acid fermentation, began producing amino acids for infusion solutions, and entered Japan’s frozen-food business. Later milestones included acquiring Belgian fine-chemicals company S.A. OmniChem in 1989 and launching its Ajinomoto Build-up Film electronic-materials business in 1999. Ajinomoto spun off its frozen-food business in 2000 and expanded it through acquisitions in the United States in 2014 and France in 2017.[6][25][26][12] [5][24][25][6][26][12]
Sources
- AJINOMOTO CO INC — Presentation (2025 Y)[1][2]
- www.ajinomoto.com[3]
- www.ajinomoto.com[4]
- www.ajinomoto.com[5]
- www.ajinomoto.com[6]
- www.ajinomoto.com.my[7]
- www.ajinomoto.com[8]
- www.ajinomoto.com[9]
- www.ajinomoto.com[10]
- www.ajinomoto.co.jp[11]
- www.ajinomoto.com[12]
- www.ffa.ajinomoto.com[13]
- www.ffa.ajinomoto.com[14]
- www.ajinomoto.com[15]
- www.ajinomoto.co.jp[16]
- www.ajinomoto.com[17]
- www.ajinomoto.com[18]
- ajibio-pharma.ajinomoto.com[19]
- www.ajinomoto.com[20]
- www.ajinomoto.co.jp[21]
- ajinomoto-ir.swcms.net[22]
- www.ajinomoto.com[23]
- www.ajinomoto.com[24]
- www.ajinomoto.com[25]
- www.ajinomoto.com[26]
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