Suntory

Shinjirō Torii opened a small wine shop in Osaka in 1899. That storefront grew into Suntory, a conglomerate that now sells whisky, beer, oolong tea, canned cocktails, and even blue roses. The company remains family controlled by the Torii dynasty and is not publicly traded. Its headquarters sits in the Dōjimahama district of Osaka, and it employs roughly 40,000 people worldwide.

The 2014 acquisition of Beam Inc. changed the company's scale overnight. That deal brought Jim Beam and Maker's Mark into the fold and pushed Suntory into the top tier of global spirits companies. Today the spirits arm operates as Suntory Global Spirits, while the parent company also runs soft drinks, health products, and a horticulture division called Suntory Flowers. The portfolio spans Japanese whiskies like Toki and World Whisky Ao, ready-to-drink brands like Suntory -196, and a beer business that has inspired its own viral pouring ritual on social media.

Suntory has kept investing through the global alcohol downturn. In April 2026 it agreed to buy Daiichi Sankyo's consumer health unit for $1.5 billion, a move into over-the-counter medicine that broadens its reach beyond beverages. The company also runs Suntory Hall, a concert venue in Tokyo, and has saved £356,000 through smarter water management at its plants. Whisky value reportedly rose 18 percent even as the wider spirits market slumped. [edit]