ITO EN and the Melbourne Rebels have today officially announced their partnership for the 2020 Super Rugby season.
ITO EN is the largest green tea brand in Japan, with the Japanese giant headquartered in Tokyo and having local tea plantations in the north-east alpine region of Victoria, and a tea factory in Wangaratta.
The partnership is part of ITO EN’s strategy to become more familiar to the Australian audience as it looks to increase local awareness and work towards establishing a more sophisticated production facility in northern Victoria.
ITO EN produce a range of tea products sold all around the world and are primarily known for their matcha and ready to drink green tea products in Australia.
“It’s great to be able to formally announce this partnership and further strengthen our commercial connectivity with Japan through this fantastic relationship," said Melbourne Rebels CEO Baden Stephenson.
“Our next four Super Rugby games are against international opponents in Melbourne, Cape Town and Buenos Aires which is a clear illustration of the truly global nature of our sport. That presents unique opportunities for brands to partner with us and I am very pleased that we can simultaneously help ITO EN become more familiar to Melbourne and contribute to their international growth strategy.”
The ITO EN brand has featured on signage at the first two Rebels home games of 2020 and is also prominent on the Rebels warm-up apparel and kicking tees.
“We are a well established Japanese company and we are also always looking to innovate and promote ourselves in different ways," said ITO EN Australia Managing Director, Masashi Sato.
“We see the Melbourne Rebels as being great ambassadors for a healthy, active and social lifestyle and that is a great alignment for ITO EN and our tea products.
“Australia is a key growth market for ITO EN and we are committed long-term to expanding our Victorian plantation and production capacity over the next decade.
"We have really enjoyed becoming a part of the Melbourne Rebels network and we look forward to a long-term relationship that supports us to expand our local relationships through their people and partnerships.”
