Have you heard about CRAFT BEER PAPER ®?
kitafuku Co., Ltd. has developed a new recyclable product by utilizing craft brewer's spent grain (BSG). That is CRAFT BEER PAPER®.
Kitafuku, the company name, is a combination of the respective home prefectures' names of its two founders, Yoshimi and Shoki Matsuzaka. Wife Yoshimi is from 北 海道(ho kkaidou)(北 is also called kita) while husband Shoki hails from 福 岡(fuku oka).
So, 'Kitafuku' is derived from the first characters 北 ('kita' meaning 'north') and 福 ('fuku' meaning 'luck' or 'blessing') of our respective home prefectures.
What is CRAFT BEER PAPER ®?
CRAFT BEER PAPER ® is made from BSG(also called malt lees) recycled from local craft beer brewers in Yokohama, lending it a unique character with its subtle beer hue. This character makes an attractive choice for a wide range of creative and artistic applications.
Currently, we have postcards, coasters, gift boxes, and Craft Beer Paper sheets that can be printed just like regular white printing paper. By the way, our business cards are all made by Craft Beer Paper.
The behind story of CRAFT BEER PAPER ®
(also the story of our company)
Original Intention
kitafuku Co. was founded in 2019 by two people with careers as system engineers. The company’s name 'kitafuku' is derived from the first kanji characters of our respective home prefectures showcasing our deep love for our roots and relationships. We are now based in Yokohama. Therefore, we want to hold it dear and are driven to create tangible products closely tied to our current home, meanwhile, allowing people to feel that connection in their hands.
Spotted the Problem: the waste
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we witnessed a significant amount of waste. While pondering this issue, we couldn't help but notice the heaps of waste accumulating at the garbage dump. It struck a chord with us. Various ideas started to emerge, and then a sudden recollection of a former colleague who now works for a paper company came to mind. This colleague was actively researching how to blend waste materials with recycled paper to create new recycled paper. And we contacted him.
Side by side, we stumbled upon Yokohama hosts numerous craft beer breweries through one of our friends. Further research revealed that Yokohama is recognized as the birthplace of craft beer in Japan, solidifying its reputation as a craft beer town. We also learned that craft beer breweries are struggling with a large amount of waste.
What can we do about the waste?
kitafuku started an experiment to solve the problem of craft beer breweries who had been thinking about how to do something about the waste. And we challenged craft brewers to recycle the spent grain (BSG) and turn it into recycled paper.
Received Overwhelming Supports
We visited Yokohama Beer, a craft beer brewery deeply involved with the local community, including farmers in Yokohama. We sought their input regarding the provision of spent grain for paper production. During our discussions, Yokohama Beer shared their philosophy: "what we want to convey is not THING but PEOPLE". This sentiment resonated deeply with us, as it echoed our own desire to create products that's closely tied to the local community.
With the assistance of Yokohama Beer, our designers, and the former colleague working at a paper company, CRAFT BEER PAPER ® came out‼️
Last Word
From a small idea, we have been learning about local issues, craft beer and the community.
CRAFT BEER PAPER ® is our first in-house product, which was born from our connections with people and communities, has become an important part of who we are.
This is CRAFT BEER PAPER®'s story, our story.
Thank you for your reading.
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Here is our company's official website:
いただいたサポートはクラフトビールペーパー・IoTデバイス開発の事業に活用させていただきます。