Pocari Sweat Origin Story

Japan's original sports drink

Perhaps the funniest joke every foreigner makes when using a Japanese vending machine for the first time is noticing the English words written on Pocari Sweat. “Hey, they sell sweat here to drink!” I’ll dispel that myth upfront. Today we will look into Japan’s energy drink of the future from the 1980s.

Starting to sweat

The origins of this Japanese drink started at the same time as the decade: 1980. Like any good beginning to a drinks company, the idea came from the hospital. Somehow in the most lax hospital ever, a researcher (Rokuro Harima) spotted doctors drinking directly from an intravenous drip bag while overseas. Instead of reporting this to the relevant medical authorities, this sparked his creativity.

Rokuro worked for Otsuka Pharmaceutical, and likely knew better than to dob in a potential hospital client of his. However, this was not merely a business visit to the hospital, it was personal. He was in Mexico, being treated for diarrhea, and was told to keep drinking fluids with nutrition. This advice came with a carbonated soft drink, and Harima’s mind began to go into product development.

Faced with a hospital-grade diarrhea attack in a foreign country, most of us would simply fight to survive. Not Rokuro. In an instance of being the best employee ever, he taste-tested Otsuka’s pre-existing IV drip bag products. After noticing its bitter disgusting taste, he sought further help from the head office.

The company had been trying to expand into powdered citrus juices, so he tried mixing that in, but that wasn’t the answer either. Finally, him and his team had to their name two prototypes for the original rehydration drink. A sweeter flavour, and a lighter, more watery one. Not content with just letting the consumer decide, Rokuro and his team decided the best way to test this rehydration was to summit a local Tokushima mountain, Tsurigi-san.

These over-and-above trials proved to his team that it was easier to drink the watered down flavour, at least during moments of intense energy. Like climbing 1,955 m, which happens to be the height of Mount Tsurigi. Now the formula was ready.

The Selling of Pocari Sweat

We come to the name. This miracle drink that required international hospital visits to Mexico to come to life needed something that spoke to the world. Or at least to the Japanese audience that Otsuka were trying to capture.

Lets get to the first part of the name first, Pocari. This should be the easier word to explain, but it isn’t. It isn’t even a word. Quoting from the Otsuka website “"POCARI" does not have any specific meaning, but conveys a light and bright feeling in Japanese.” Apparently it also expresses a Europeanness to the drink, but I’ve yet to experience that. While hard to now disentangle the brand Pocari from the word, it really does not mean anything in Japanese or English (editor’s note: the onomatopoeic term pokkari (ポッカリ) may have also played a part, one of its meanings being one of light, airy openness, but the jury’s still out as to any connection with Pocari). At the very least, the word is memorable.

Sweat is the second word. While unappetising in English, the meaning came across clearly in Japanese. The drink replenishes lost hydration, nutrition, and ions, often that were sweated out. It made the connection that if you exercise, then this was the drink for you. Sort of like an sports drink if you will.

Pocari Sweat was the first sports drink in Japan that was for consumers. While Otsuka were aware of the American Gatorade, they were quicker to embrace this market in their homeland. The attention focused in on the Japanese market, just as the domestic consumer became wealthier and more health-conscious.

This launch in Japan focused the brand. Instead of highlighting the sweet flavour, like other carbonated soft drinks, or the energy provided like caffeinated energy drinks, Pocari needed to set itself apart. They settled on hydration. Forget water, Pocari Sweat was the drink you needed when you were thirsty. The ad campaigns highlighted the dangers of dehydration, with samples passed out in gyms, sport games, and onsens.

This paid off with Otsuka looking to expand their footprint even outside Japan. Their target market? Hot countries that didn’t already have Gatorade. Thus, the drink spread to the Middle East, South East Asia and Eastern Asian countries. The Gatorade giant was too big elsewhere, already dominating the sports drink market in the USA with 86% market share in the 1980s.

Blue and White Decades

Pocari has become a runaway success. It was the first Japanese non-alcoholic drink to sell over $1 billion USD. You can find it in stores across Asia. Every vending machine reminds you that dehydration bad; Pocari good. So what is Pocari up to now?

Source: Pocari Sweat

Instead of resting on their laurels, the brand is still focused on increasing reach to the youth. How do you reach a generation that is less interested in sugary drinks (just because it isn’t sweet doesn’t mean it doesn’t contain sugar) and going outdoors?

Despite reaching middle age with four decades, Pocari Sweat isn’t rolling over and letting newfangled upstarts like Prime takeover the drinks market. Instead, they have leant into focusing on health. With the trend of young ones turning away from sugary drinks, Pocari has smartly added a lighter option, Pocari Sweat Ion Water, because apparently, even hydration needs a diet plan.

In a one-two punch to appeal to youth, Pocari Sweat also searched out the right celebrity endorsements. Nowadays Pocari has Japanese athletes spruiking the benefits of extra hydration, as well as global stars targeting specific markets. In Korea, Pocari Sweat not only have star power from major K-Pop idol bands like Twice, but they also have these stars making hit songs about their product.

The targeted story is the same in each of their key Asian and Middle Eastern markets.

If you are in a Pocari target nation, you will see them everywhere from K-pop idols, Filipino Women’s Volleyball (The Pocari Sweat Lady Warriors) and even esports sponsorships. To think this all started from someone deciding that IV bags should taste better. The blue and white bottle is proof that innovation can strike anywhere, and a lot of sweat (figurative, not literal) can make you a global icon.