：Origin of business
  ：Launch of main product brands

Year

News

Price of Stock Acquisition/Equity Share after Acquisition (described only since 2000)

1907

Dr. Kikunae Ikeda, a chemist, started to develop UMAMI taste from Konbu seaweed.
Mr. Saburosuke Suzuki II established Suzuki Seiyakusho Co.

1909
Began the seasonings business with the launch of AJI-NO-MOTO® for general consumers

1917

Established S. Suzuki & Co. Ltd. (the present Ajinomoto Co., Inc.).
Opened New York purchasing and sales office (closed in 1941).

1918

Opened Shanghai sales office (closed in 1945).

1927

Opened Singapore sales office (closed in 1938).
Opened Hong Kong sales office (closed in 1937).

1929

Opened Taipei sales office (closed in 1945).

1931

Opened Seoul sales office (closed in 1943).
Opened Dalian sales office (closed in 1945).

1933

Opened Harbin (China) sales office (closed in 1942).
Opened Shenyang (China) sales office (closed in 1943).

1934

Opened Tianjin (China) sales office (closed in 1945).

1935

Established Takara Oil Refining Co., Ltd. (later absorbed by Ajinomoto Co., Inc.)

1939

Established Shanghai Ajinomoto Co. in China (sold in 1945).

1946

Changed company name to Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

1949

Became a publicly-quoted company.

1954

Opened Sao Paulo, Paris, Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong sales offices.

1956

Established Ajinomoto do Brasil Industria e Comercio.
Established Ajinomoto Co. of New York, Inc. (the present Ajinomoto North America Holdings, Inc).

1958

Established Nippon Consomme Co., Ltd.(later Knorr Foods Co. ,Ltd., currently Ajinomoto Food Manufacturing Co., Ltd. ).
Established Union Chemicals Inc. in the Philippines (the present AJINOMOTO PHILIPPINES CORPORATION).

1960

Established Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd.

1961

Established Ajinomoto (Malaya) Co., Ltd. (the present Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Berhad).
Established Deutsche Ajinomoto GmbH (integrated into Ajinomoto Foods Europe S.A.S. in 2003)

1962
Launched Ajinomoto KK Consommé.

Launched Kellogg's Corn Flakes in alliance with Kellogg Co (dissolved the alliance in 2020).

1963

Signed agreement for Knorr® soups with CPC international Inc. (later Bestfoods Corporation, acquired by Unilever N.V./PLC in 2000).

1964

Launched Knorr Soup in alliance with CPC.

1965
launched savory seasoning AJIMATE®.

1968

Established Ajinomoto del Peru S.A.

Launched mayonnaise in alliance with CPC.

1969

Established PT Ajinomoto Indonesia.

1970
Launched HON-DASHI®.

1972

Took a stake in instant noodle manufacturer Miojo Produtos Alimenticios Ltda. in Brazil, which became a joint venture (Nissin-Ajinomoto Alimentos Ltda.) with Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. in 1975.（Transferred all equity in 2015.）

Started the frozen foods business with the launch of the Ajinomoto KK Frozen Foods line, including Gyoza

1973

Established Ajinomoto (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.

Established Ajinomoto General Foods, Inc. (AGF), a joint venture with General Foods Corporation of the United States (later Kraft Foods Inc., currently Mondelēz International, Inc.) and entered the coffee business as the general sales agent in Japan for AGF products
Launched Knorr® Cup Soup.

Took a stake in Wan Thai Foods Industry Co., Ltd.
Established Sazonadores del Pacifico C. Ltda.

1975
Launched Maxim® instant coffee from AGF.

1977
Launched Chuka Aji.

1978
Launched menu-specific seasonings Cook Do®.
Launched Ground Coffee from AGF.

1979
Launched Flavor Seasonings RosDee® in Thailand.

1980

Established joint venture Ajinomoto Danone Co., Ltd. with Cie Gervais Danone; became sole distributor of
Danone yogurt in Japan. (Dissolved in merger in 2007.)

1982
Started the sweeteners business by beginning exports of aspartame to the United States

1983

Established NutraSweet AG (later Ajinomoto Sweeteners Europe S.A.S.) in Switzerland (sold in 2015)

1984
Launched sweetners Pal Sweet® 1/60.

1988
Launched Flavor Seasonings Sazón® in Brazil.
Launched Bottle Coffee from AGF.

1989
Launched Flavor Seasonings Masako® in Indonesia.

1990

Established Ajinomoto Frozen Foods (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

Became sole distributor in Japan of all Calpis Co., Ltd. products except alcoholic beverages. (Calpis became a
wholly owned subsidiary in 2007; sold all shares of Calpis in 2012.)

1991

Established B&W Vietnam Co., Ltd. (the present Ajinomoto Vietnam Co., Ltd.).
Established West African Seasoning Co., Ltd. in Nigeria.
Established Euro-Aspartame S.A. (later Ajinomoto Sweeteners Europe S.A.S.) in France. (sold in 2015)

Launched Flavor Seasonings GINISA® in Philippines.

1992
Launched enzyme preparations ACTIVA®.

1993
Launched Birdy® canned coffee in Thailand.
Launched Marudori Gara Soup.

1994

Established CHUANHUA AJINOMOTO CO., LTD. in China.（Transferred all shares in 2010.）

1995

Established Ajinomoto Betagro Frozen Foods Co., Ltd. in Thailand.
Established Lianyungang Ajinomoto Ruyi Foods Co., Ltd. in China.

1996

Established Ajinomoto (China) Co., Ltd.

1997
Launched Frozen Foods Yawaraka-Wakadori-Karaage.

1998

Established ZAO "AJINOMOTO-GENETIKA Research Institute" in Russia.

1999

Established Ajinomoto Poland Sp. zoo.

2000

Established AJINOMOTO FROZEN FOODS CO., INC. (spun off from the frozen foods business)
Established Lianyungang Ajinomoto Frozen Foods Co., Ltd. in China.

Launched Flavor Seasonings Aji-ngon® in Vietnam.

2001

Established a joint venture in China for retort food products with House Foods (SHANGHAI HOUSE AJINOMOTO FOODS CO., LTD.)
Spun off the edible oils business and integrated it into Ajinomoto Oil Mills Co., Inc. (the present J-OIL MILLS, INC.)

2002

Established Shanghai Ajinomoto Seasoning Co., Ltd.
Ajinomoto Oil Mills Co., Inc. (currently J-OIL MILLS, INC.)2 established joint holding company with HONEN CORPORATION.（In 2003, Yoshihara Oil Mill, Ltd. became a wholly owned subsidiary of J-OIL MILLS.）

Launched stick coffee from AGF.

2003

Took a stake in and formed a business tie-up with Gaban Asaoka Co., Ltd. (made a subsidiary in 2007, business tie-up dissolved in 2016)
Established AJINOMOTO INDIA PVT. Ltd.
Established Ajinomoto Korea, Inc.
Established AJINOMOTO FOODS EUROPE S.A.S. in France.

2004

Established Xiamen Ajinomoto Life Ideal Foods Co., Ltd.
Established OOO AJINOMOTO.

2006

Acquired Amoy Food Group companies from Groupe Danone.
Established AJINOMOTO TAIWAN INC.

 Amoy Food Group: approx.27.3 billion/100%

2007

Alliance with YAMAKI Co., Ltd.

YAMAKI Co., Ltd.: Non-disclosure/33.4%

2009

Established Ajinomoto (Cambodia) Co., Ltd.
Established Ajinomoto de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V.

2011

Established Ajinomoto Istanbul Food Sales Ltd.
Established Ajinomoto Bangladesh Ltd.
Established Ajinomoto Foods Egypt S.A.E.

2012

Established AJINOMOTO AFRIQUE DE L’OUEST S.A. in Côte d’Ivoire.

Launched Nabe-Cube®.

2013

Acquired a 50 percent stake in KÜKRE GIDA VE İHTİYAÇ MADDELERİ NAKLİYAT VE ÖZEL EĞİTİM HİZMETLERİ TİCARET VE SANAYİ ANONİM ŞİRKETİ (Kükre A.Ş.) .

Kükre A.Ş.: approx.2.9 ￥ billion/100％

2014

Established joint venture Maruchan Ajinomoto India Private Limited with Toyo Suisan Kaisha, Ltd.
Opened Lahore Office in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Acquired Windsor Quality Holdings, LP, a US company (the present Ajinomoto Foods North America, Inc.) that manufactures and sells frozen food.
Established Ajinomoto JAWO Sp.z o.o. through a joint venture with JAWO Sp.z o.o. of Poland

Windsor Quality Holdings: approx. 84.0 ￥billion/100%

2015

Acquired all shares of AGF held by Mondele-z International, Inc.; AGF became a wholly owned consolidated subsidiary.
Established joint venture Ajinomoto Toyo Frozen Noodles Inc. with Toyo Suisan Kaisha, Ltd.
Established PT AJINOMOTO BAKERY INDONESIA.

Launched Frozen Foods The★Chahan.

AGF: approx. 27.0 ￥billion/100％

2016

Established Myanmar Ajinomoto Foods CO., LTD.
Established Ajinomoto Lakson Pakistan (Private) Limited, a joint venture with the Lakson Group.
Acquired all trademarks licensed to AGF, including Blendy® and MAXIM®.
Acquired a 33.33% stake in Promasidor Holdings Limited.

approx. JPY 25.9 billion (acquisition cost of trademark rights)
Promasidor Holdings Limited.: approx. 55.8￥billion/33.33%

2017

Acquired Örgen Gıda Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. of Turkey (amalgamated with Kükre A.Ş. and Ajinomoto Istanbul Food Sales Ltd. to form AJINOMOTO ISTANBUL FOOD INDUSTRY AND TRADE LIMITED COMPANY in 2018)
Changed company name of Ajinomoto General Foods, Inc. to AGF, Inc.
Acquired remaining 50% equity share of Kükre A.Ş. and made it a wholly owned subsidiary (amalgamated with Örgen Gıda Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. and Ajinomoto Istanbul Food Sales Ltd. to form AJINOMOTO ISTANBUL FOOD INDUSTRY AND TRADE LIMITED COMPANY in 2018)
Acquired  LABEYRIE TRAITEUR SURGELÉS S.A.S. (Ajinomoto Frozen Foods France S.A.S.) in France.
Established a production company for dry soups trough a joint venture with Nongshim Co., Ltd. of South Korea (Ajinomoto Nongshim Foods, Co., Ltd.)

Örgen Gıda Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş.: approx. 6.1￥billion/100％
Kükre A.Ş.: approx.5.7￥billion/100%
LABEYRIE TRAITEUR SURGELÉS S.A.S.: approx. 3.6￥billion/100%

2019

Integrated the manufacturing and packaging business of Kawasaki and Tokai Plant, AJINOMOTO PACKAGING INC. and Knorr Foods Co., Ltd and named the new company Ajinomoto Food Manufacturing Co., Ltd.