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3 Grow the BEST SAFFRON possible. Make it AFFORDABLE FOR EVERYONE CHIZUKO SUZUKI CO-FOUNDER " "

4 SAFFRON COSTS MORE THAN GOLD BUT IT DOESN T HAVE TO. A message from Mr. Piyush Vaidya Co-founder, The Akaito Company, Limited In fact, many call it Red Gold. But there is nothing inherently expensive about the spice. Antiquated production methods, layers of profiteering middlemen, and rampant adulteration keep saffron exorbitant. Just as Mikimoto revolutionized the pearl industry, AKAI-TO is changing how people buy and use saffron in the 21st Century. And our efforts are bearing fruit. AKAI-TO SAFFRON exceeds the ISO 3632 Grade I Saffron Standard the highest standard of saffron produced anywhere else in the world and at a lower price. So whether you are a professional chef, or just want to cook something delicious for your loved ones, unleash your creativity with saffron without fearing price. AKAI-TO is working hard to put the power of saffron in your hands, through our uncompromising craftsmanship, state-of-the-art R&D and proprietary cultivation methods, and peerless production quality. We want saffron to become known for what it is: the noble spice that is central to the senses for enjoyment of good food, and not Red Gold. The Akaito Company, Limited AKAI-TO 21 AKAI-TO ISO 3632 Grade I Saffron Standard AKAI-TO

5 Welcome to the world of AKAI-TO SAFFRON! PIYUSH VAIDYA Co-founder AKAI-TO!

6 The story of AKAI-TO SAFFRON starts with OUR CULTURE. AKAI-TO

7 Quinn Saffron Winery as depicted in the Japanese Taisho Period. Today, it is listed in Japan as a Tangible Cultural Property in Niigata Prefecture.

8 JAPAN has been GROWING SAFFRON for 300 YEARS. A culture of CRAFTSMANSHIP INNOVATION FASTIDIOUS CARE that is UNSURPASSED IN THE WORLD

9 Quinn Saffron Winery as it appears today

10 One of OUR CULTURAL STRENGTHS is our ability to combine the MASTER CRAFTSMAN S ART with PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY.

12 SUPER CORMS: OUR POWERHOUSES OF SAFFRON GROWTH The bulb or corm is the engine that powers the crocus plant to create molecules for aroma, taste, and color in the stamens of the saffron flower. More energy in the corm means stronger growth. From proprietary methods of corm hibernation, expansion, and cleaving, AKAI-TO corms are twice the size and four times the density of corms produced anywhere else. AKAI-TO 2 4

15 AKAI-TO SAFFRON TERROIR: RICH VOLCANIC SOILS AND TEMPERATE MICROCLIMATES Our terroir of rich volcanic soils, situated in temperate microclimates of near mountains, are unique. In this special environment, AKAI-TO cultivates saffron in a 300 year old Japanese tradition. In these coveted locations, Nature provides AKAI-TO with the the raw materials to create the best saffron in the world. More than a physical environment, our saffron estates are cultural ecosystems where family traditions and ways of life are complexly entwined with all other aspects of natural surroundings. Every step of the cultivation and production process is performed at the terroir. This marriage of people and nature is the soul of AKAI-TO SAFFRON. AKAI-TO ( ) AKAI-TO 300 AKAI-TO ( ) AKAI- TO

16 OUR PROPRIETARY CULTIVATION METHODS When you taste AKAI-TO SAFFRON, you will immediately know that you are tasting something of unsurpassed excellence. So it shouldn t be surprising to hear that the way we cultivate saffron is staggeringly different from anyone else in the world. Take, for example, corm production. AKAI-TO plants and replants the corms multiple times in one season. Can you imagine any farmer planting a crop, then removing it, then replanting the same plants? We can. Because we know that kind of fastidiousness and ingenuity is needed to store the maximum energy in the corms to produce superior saffron. But that s only the beginning. Before the harvest, the mature saffron plants are removed again from the terroir. The plants complete the other phases of their growth in various kinds of environmentally controlled shelters.they are carefully protected from dust, contaminants, weather, UV radiation, and other harmful effects. Fast-forward to our multi-stage drying process. It is a combination of traditional Japanese drying techniques with advanced scientific research. And it is all executed with pharmaceutical grade precision. Harvested saffron is stored in controlled environments. Finally, when the saffron is shipped, it is packaged in wooden containers made from traditional Japanese materials, similar to those used to store precious silk kimonos. This keeps the saffron in perfect condition for long periods of time. And there are many more parts in the cultivation story that combines master craftsmanship, Japanese culture, process excellence, and the latest scientific research. The cultivation methods are trade secrets of AKAI-TO, but the results are not. You can taste it in every strand of the absolute best saffron in the world. AKAI-TO AKAI-TO AKAI-TO AKAI-TO 1 AKAI-TO

17 X AKAI-TO JAPANESE CULTURE X SAFFRON : centuries-old techniques in silkworm production have been adapted to AKAI-TO s proprietary saffron production process

18 THE AKAI-TO WAY: THREE PILLARS OF CULTURE, SCIENCE, AND PROCESS. AKAI-TO : AKAI-TO AKAI- TO AKAI-TO 21 ISO AKAI-TO AKAI-TO AKAI-TO KAIZEN AKAI-TO To achieve this unprecedented marriage of saffron robustness with affordability, AKAI-TO has developed proprietary cultivation and production methods. Every minutiae of the cultivation, processing, and distribution of its saffron is governed by THE AKAI-TO WAY. AKAI-TO has integrated traditional Japanese farming methods with state-of-the-art R&D, 21st Century production technology, and rigorous doubleblind pharmaceutical-style testing of its saffron by independent ISO laboratories. Traceability, security, and independent auditing are entwined in every step of AKAI-TO s saffron production. In this way, AKAI-TO can guarantee with absolute certainty the authenticity and quality of its saffron, not by bulk batch, but by each individual strand of saffron. No fakes. No contaminants Although this surpasses all other saffron production methods in the world, it is not enough for AKAI-TO. Kaizen the Japanese method of continuous improvement that revolutionized production in virtually every industry worldwide is integral to THE AKAI-TO WAY, always seeking to make its product better.

19 AKAI-TO 3 2 SCIENCE AND JAPANESE PROCESS Advanced science and best-in-class Japanese processes are two of AKAI-TO s three pillars of proprietary saffron cultivation.

20 THE RESULT: KAI-TO SAFFRON OUTPERFORMS ALL OTHER SAFFRON IN THE WORLD AKAI-TO AKAI-TO ISO 3632 Grade I Saffron Standard AKAI-TO AKAI-TO ISO Grade I standard 110 AKAI-TO 2020 So much so, it even became necessary for AKAI-TO to create its own classification scheme that exceeds the ISO 3632 Grade I Saffron Standard. But as outstanding as AKAI-TO SAFFRON is today, we know that we must set our target even higher if we are to maintain our preeminence as a producer of peerless saffron that is affordable. The very highest AKAI-TO classification exceeds the ISO Grade I standard by 110% a rank that even AKAI-TO has not yet reached, but is targeting to reach it by Opposite Page: The three most molecules that are used in saffron classification are crocin (color), picocrocin (arising in flavor), and saffronal (producing the aroma of saffron). AKAI-TO measures another 15 parameters of its saffron in its quality assurance method, using double-blind testing at independent laboratories that are ISO-certified. AKAI-TO saffron outperforms all other saffron in every measure. 3 AKAI-TO ISO 15 AKAI-TO

21 CROCIN LEVEL AKAI-TO today AKAI-TO s 2020 target ISO 3632 Grade I Saffron Standard

22 AKAI-TO WORKS IN THE JAPANESE TRADITION. Create LUXURIOUS PRODUCTS of the HIGHEST QUALITY INFUSED with the CRAFTSMAN S SPIRIT yet AFFORDABLE FOR EVERYONE. AKAI-TO

24 THE UNCOMPROMISING CRAFTSMANSHIP OF AKAI-TO MASTER ARTISANS AKAI-TO MASTER AKAI-TO AKAI-TO AKAI-TO Way AKAI-TO AKAI-TO AKAI-TO " AKAI-TO MASTER ARTISANS are unmatched, each having from 40 to 60 years experience in saffron cultivation. All have rich histories in farming, dating back countless generations in Japan, and have interacted with a wide spectrum of crops from their early youth. This expertise goes beyond books, beyond research and development and process. For example, it is said that the AKAI-TO MASTERS are able to sense just by touching the corm the viability and potential of the saffron. Such sense only develops after many decades of experience, begun in youth. AKAI-TO MASTERS oversee production of the best saffron in the world by THE AKAI-TO WAY. They work closely with AKAI-TO R&D and Production Departments, continuously experimenting, innovating, and improving THE AKAI-TO WAY. In the way that Japanese master sword-smiths imbue their works with spirit, the soul of AKAI-TO SAFFRON is sparked, nurtured, and protected by AKAI-TO MASTERS. Their mission at AKAI-TO: Grow the best saffron possible. Make it affordable to everyone.

25 KANEKO SENSEI UTSUGI SENSEI CHIKAO WATANABE What better feeling is there than to be at one with the world than to feel the soil beneath ones feet, to smell the distinct aroma of the land after a rainfall, to look out and only see farmland across the horizon. This is the way that Kaneko san views the world. She was born in a farming family and enjoys the lifestyle that comes with it. Now we have employed her to put her expertise to work producing an improving AKAI-TO saffron. A farmer by profession. Utsugi san has been farming all his life. With a passion for including technology into farming he has a rich experience which has helped us further improve the Akaito Way. We hired Utsugi san not only to farm our saffron but to also help us radically change the way that saffron is produced in todays world. Making it Better, Easier, and Cheaper. Born 1930, Takeda City, Kyushu. Studied veterinary medicine and in 1952 I got a job at a livestock clinic of agricultural teaching materials and handled artificial insemination of cattle mainly. After working as a farming coach of the agricultural cooperative, from 1985 he joined the family farmer and cultivated rice and saffron. Safron production shipping association chief of Takeda City in 2004.

26 THE INEFFABLE ARTISTRY: AKAI-TO MASTER CHEFS

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28 AKAI-TO SAFFRON: a portfolio of RUBIES that is an ECTASY to the SENSES When you behold AKAI-TO SAFFRON, each time is always as the first. Your curiosity and anticipation is instantly aroused. The ruby color of the stamens runs deeper than cayenne or crimson more like the maroon of a Blood Moon. Long, plump waxy threads longer and plumper than anything you have ever seen of saffron before glisten as the stamens delicately express micro-droplets of essential oils. One recollects the oil that gently seeps from pristine fat in a cut of raw Matsuzaka Beef at room temperature. And the aroma. If white truffles are Mozart, then AKAI-TO SAFFRON is Elvis. You know this is saffron; Elvis is in the building. Bold, unorthodox. Raw passion that is skating on the edge of control, tugging you to get busy and start creating! The taste of any saffron evades description any saffron, that is, except AKAI- TO SAFFRON. It tastes of the color of that Blood Moon. Above the amorous passion of cardamon, pistachio, and pumpkin are thin brushstrokes of honeydew. A whisper of picocrocin s bitterness lends a note of melancholy.

31 AKAI-TO SAFFRON PORTFOLIO Varietal Blends ruby ruby yuki ruby kyohaku ruby onjo valor fortitude compassion Seasoning ruby shio AKAI-TO SAFFRON and moist gray salt SEL DU GEURENDE Beef ruby gyu Japanese premier breed cattle fed with whole AKAI-TO SAFFRON flowers Dessert ruby cream Ice cream of Japanese heavy cream flavored with AKAI-TO SAFFRON, vanilla, and cardamon Beverage ruby nomu Drinkable yoghurt sourced from Tsukuba, infused with AKAI-TO SAFFRON and rosewater

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$\615L\625\761\621\745\615\750\617\743\623\6075\614\616\615\606.PS$ osakikamijima HIGH SCHOOL REPORT Hello everyone! I hope you are enjoying spring and all of the fun activities that come with warmer weather! Similar to Judy, my time here on Osakikamijima is