Our guest is Genki Ito, who is the founder of Tippsy Sake, an online store that specializes in Japanese sake, based in California. Japanese sake has been increasingly popular globally in recent years and the US is one of the most promising markets for the sake industry. For example, between 2011 to 2021, the value of Japanese sake export to the US tripled, and its quantity doubled, according to the Japanese government’s statistics. In other words, Americans are drinking not only more sake but also higher-quality sake than 10 years ago. But if you live in America, you normally have to go to Japanese restaurants to discover great sake, partly because your local liquor shop doesn’t carry good enough sake for you (or sells no sake at all), or the store does not have anyone who can give you solid advice on which one to buy.Tipssy Sake is a nice solution for the problem by making Japanese sake more readily available to everyone from sake novices to connoisseurs. In this episode, we will discuss how Genki’s unique background led him to come up with the successful business concept, what types of Japanese sake people are drinking right now in America, how COVID-19 dramatically boosted Tippsy Sake’s business, and much, much more!!!Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.