It was around a decade ago in 2017 that Kirin established the iMUSE brand of beverages in Japan, featuring its in-house postbiotic: heat-killed Lactococcus lactis strain Plasma, also known as LC-Plasma.
It was an interesting launch at the time probiotics was known for gut health benefits, but postbiotics had not yet become as widely known — this recognition really only became widespread around 2021 when an official definition was announced by the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP), and its benefits such as survival in ambient temperatures became known.
iMUSE was only certified as an immune-care functional food in 2020, and exports to Vietnam and the United States started around the same time, but it wasn’t until this year that Kirin’s decade-long dedication to the product has really seen significant commercialisation beyond Japan within the Asian region.
“2026 is an exciting year for iMUSE as it will be seeing a refresh in Vietnam and entering several new Asian markets,” Kirin President of Health Science Business Division Toru Yoshimura said during the firm’s recent Investors’ Day.
“We are promoting a multi-category strategy for this brand that builds awareness of its ingredients, and hope to expand our customer base in the [functional] beverage category to drive future growth.”
In Vietnam, iMUSE underwent what Kirin calls a ‘relaunch’ of the brand in June 2026, a nation-wide campaign focused on sharpening branding and messaging after seeing significant success in a market.
“Vietnam was one of iMUSE’s first overseas forays where it debuted in 2019, and has seen rapid expansion over the past few years, with the number of store carrying this product growing by around 20 times, proving its strong performance,” a Kirin spokesman said.
“This product has gained strong support from Vietnamese consumers by offering a new health value, namely the support of supporting daily health management through a non-alcoholic beverage, [which has been crucial] as in recent years health awareness has been increasing in this market along with growing consumer demand for convenient ways to incorporate health-conscious choices into their daily lives.”
Moving even further in Asia
Building on this success, Kirin has also made the immense decision this year to expand retail markets for LC-Plasma biotic drinks into more Asian markets.
First on the list has been Taiwan, where it launched the KIRIN iMUSE Lactococcus Lemon Water, also in June 2026.
“In Taiwan, Kirin is building on the success of other Kirin products that have been successful in this market namely Kirin Gogo-no-Kocha and Kirin Nama-cha, both of which are bottled tea. Together, these saw around 30% year-on-year growth in the Taiwanese market,” he added.
“By leveraging this proven track record and insights gained in the local market, Kirin has decided to launch KIRIN iMUSE Lactococcus Lemon Water in Taiwan [in a similar format] as these successful products, primarily through retail outlets such as convenience stores and supermarkets, while also expanding availability to drugstores and e-commerce channels.”
through retail outlets such as convenience stores and supermarkets, while also expanding availability to other retailers including drugstores, as well as promoting sales through e-commerce channels.
Hot on the heels of the Taiwanese launch, Kirin also launched into the Singapore market n July 2026 with the KIRIN IMMUSE Yoghurt Flavour, this time opting to partner with healthcare service provider Fullerton Health to maximise its health benefits in order to attract health-conscious consumers.
“In recent years, demand for beverages that emphasise health has been expanding in Singapore, driven by a growing health consciousness among consumers. Products offering added value such as daily health maintenance and nutritional supplementation have been leading market growth [for beverages],” Kirin said.
“In addition, the introduction of the Nutri-Grade system has further heightened health awareness in daily purchasing behaviour. Against this market backdrop, Kirin’s IMMUSE Yoghurt Flavour has been developed specifically for [daily health inclusion] in Singapore.”
The new products will rank as Grade B under the Nutri-Grade system, and will first debut on the Fullerton Health service platform before distribution is expanded into drugstores, supermarkets, convenience stores, and e-commerce channels.
Both iMUSE and iMMUSE are essentially different versions of the same brand name, linked to immunity-related benefits.
What this means for Kirin’s biotic beverage growth
The Singapore launch differs from Vietnam and Taiwan as an even more major progression for Kirin, because the company has acknowledged this to be the ‘first step in the full-scale development’ of its LC-Plasma business in South East Asia.
This further solidifies the company’s confidence in its overseas expansion forays, as well as its commitment to invest in growing outside of Japan moving forward.
“The LC-Plasma Business has entered a phase of profit expansion driven by revenue growth,” Yoshimura said.
“Moving forward, we aim to leverage insights from the Singapore market to expand rollouts to more neighbouring countries as well.”
Part of this expansion will be a great deal of localised innovation — As it is, the formats of LC-Plasma drinks in each of the three markets mentioned above are different, customised for local needs: In Vietnam, the refreshed products are sold in 430ml bottles; in Taiwan these are sold in 500ml bottles; and in Singapore these are sold in 200ml bottles.
That said, despite the overall format, every serving of Kirin’s iMUSE and iMMUSE products contain 100 billion LC-Plasma to ensure consumers receive a beneficial dosage with every bottle purchased.
