Asahi Orion Calpis Inryo Co., Ltd., the maker of Bireley’s brand of beverages, has bought a new beverage under Bireley’s label to stores throughout Okinawa. The new product, labeled Okinawa Bireley’s Pine, went for sale on Jun. 7th.

Bireley’s has a long history on Okinawa. In November 1951, Asahi Bakushu – now Asahi Beer – acquired the rights to manufacture and distribute Bireley’s Orange and Wilkinson Ginger Ale from General Foods and Ellis Wilkinson Ltd., respectively; both drinks are still sold in Japan, despite being discontinued in their original countries.

The Okinawa Bireley’s Pine is a juice drink made using 10% of fresh pineapple juice from the hills of Kunigami in northern Okinawa, an area that locals usually refer as ‘Yambaru.’

Asahi Orion Calpis Inryo President Yoshihiro Nousho lauded his company’s launch of its first pineapple tasting drink, and expressed his enthusiasm and confidence for the product. “Bireley’s in Japan started from Okinawa, and this new drink is made using Okinawa pineapples. It has a good balanced mixture of sourness and sweetness of fresh fruit. I am very confident that this new product will become a popular and standard item in households,” Nousho said.

Bireley’s Pine does not contain artificial sweeteners or preservatives, and only Okinawa-grown pineapples produced by JA Okinawa Agricultural Cooperative are used. The drink is sold in two different size of bottles that cost ¥330 for a 1.5-liter bottle and ¥140 for a 500ml bottle.

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