Development of “Sapporo SUPER STAR,” a “Sports Non-Alcoholic Beverage” to Make Adult Exercise More Enjoyable
In recent years as desire for a healthy life expectancy, to “age healthfully,” has grown, an increasing number of people are working to make exercise a regular habit. However, making exercise a habit requires not just a sense of “I must do it,” but also items and tools that make you “want to do it.”
At Mizuno, we have been actively working to provide not only sports-related “products ,” but also “experiences” and “spaces.” To encourage regular exercise habits, in April 2022 we launched “PUHAAH ,” a non-alcoholic beer-flavored beverage co-developed with Minami Shinshu Beer Co., Ltd ., as a motivational tool for “drinking beer when it tastes best, after sports!” The overwhelmingly positive response to “PUHAAH” confirmed the existence of a demand for “non-alcoholic beer-flavored beverages that are optimal for after sports.”
With the next goal of “further expanding the culture and environment for enjoying sports, and delivering this value to even more people,” we embarked on a collaboration with Sapporo Breweries Ltd. , which focused on sports scenes as a new drinking occasion for non-alcoholic beer.
Development of “PUHAAH,” a non-alcoholic beer for after-sports refreshment
（https://corp.mizuno.com/en/articles/0038）
Collaboration with Sapporo Breweries
In cooperation with 99 people, including members of both Mizuno and Sapporo Breweries’ development teams, who exercised and then participated in post-exercise interview surveys, we advanced the taste design of a “non-alcoholic beer-flavored beverage optimal for after sports.” A challenge that emerged was that even with non-alcoholic beverages, people felt “guilty” about drinking something beer-flavored. To overcome this hurdle of “beer taste = guilt,” through repeated trial and error we added citric acid and electrolytes (sodium)*1 within a range that would not deviate the taste from a beer-like flavor. As a result, we created a beverage with a “refreshingly delicious taste!” that can be thoroughly enjoyed after finishing a workout,*2 despite being non-alcoholic.
*1 This product does not claim any effects or efficacy from the addition of citric acid and electrolytes (sodium).
*2 This product is intended and recommended for consumption after completing exercise and taking a breather.
Co-Creation Through Design
The package design features a vivid, refreshing blue background that evokes a sporty feel with text written in “katsu-iro ” (victory color), which is a traditional deep indigo considered auspicious within competitions in Japan. Finally, the placement of the Mizuno and Sapporo Beer logos expresses the collaboration made between the two companies.
Product Commercialization and Release Date
The jointly developed product named “Sapporo SUPER STAR” will be commercialized for year-round sale starting Wednesday, February 25, 2026, and will be exclusively available to the Kinki region.*3
*3 Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Hyogo Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Wakayama Prefecture, Shiga Prefecture
What Mizuno aims for is nothing less than our raison d'être, “making people happy through sports ,” and our vision of “a society where everyone enjoys physical activity and a world where social issues are solved through the power of sports .” Mizuno will continue to take on new challenges to increase participation in sports.
