Who owns Kirin Ichiban?
Kirin Ichiban is owned by Kirin (Japan, TSE: 2503).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Kirin Holdings Company, Limited Integrated Report 2025, 31 March 2026. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Kirin Holdings Company, Limited reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇯🇵 Japan, Tokyo
- Origin
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- Founded
- 1990
- Category
- Beverages › Beer › Lager
- Parent ticker
- TSE: 2503
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Kirin Ichiban
Kirin Ichiban is brewed using only the first press of the wort, discarding the second extraction that most brewers use, which the company argues gives a cleaner taste at a higher cost. It is Kirin's flagship international beer. The method wastes a substantial share of the extractable sugars, which is why almost no other brewer uses it.
Ownership timeline of Kirin Ichiban
Where Kirin Ichiban sits in Kirin
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Kirin ownership tree →
See the full Kirin brand portfolio (5) →
Other brands owned by Kirin
Kirin controls 5 brands on Brandtree, 5 of them in beverages.
Also in beverages
- Gogo no Kocha (1986)
- Kirin Hyoketsu (2001)
- Kirin Lager (1888)
- Kirin Lemon (1928)
Other brands in lager, and who owns them
The 200 brands in lager on Brandtree belong to 55 owners. The largest is AB InBev, with 17; Kirin has 2.
About the owner: Kirin
Kirin is a publicly listed company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1907. Brandtree records 5 brands under its control, and it is listed as TSE: 2503.
Kirin Holdings traces to a brewery founded by an American in Yokohama in 1869 and took its present corporate form in 1907. It is one of the two dominant Japanese brewers and has diversified into pharmaceuticals and health science, holding a majority of biotech company Kyowa Kirin.
🇯🇵 Kirin Ichiban and other Japanese brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 448 brands that began in Japan. 22 of them (5%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Kirin Ichiban is not one of them.
- Aquarius — Coca-Cola 🇺🇸
- Asahi Super Dry — Asahi Group 🇯🇵
- Blendy — Ajinomoto 🇯🇵
- Café au Lait — Glico 🇯🇵
- Hibiki — Suntory 🇯🇵
- ITO EN Matcha Green Tea — ITO EN 🇯🇵
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Kirin Ichiban?
The parent company of Kirin Ichiban is Kirin, a publicly listed company headquartered in Japan.
Is Kirin Ichiban Japanese?
Yes. Kirin Ichiban originated in Japan in 1990 and its owner, Kirin, is also headquartered in Japan.
Is Kirin Ichiban still owned by Kirin?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, Kirin Ichiban is still owned by Kirin. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Kirin Holdings Company, Limited Integrated Report 2025 — Kirin Holdings Company, Limited, Annual report, published 31 March 2026; retrieved 16 September 2026.
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