UCC Ueshima Coffee Co.
A Japanese coffee and tea company best known for pioneering canned coffee and operating across coffee cultivation, processing, packaged products, equipment, and cafés.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
UCC Ueshima Coffee Co. is a Kobe-based Japanese coffee and tea manufacturer and a core company of the UCC Group. Its origins trace to a coffee business established by Tadao Ueshima in 1933 under the name Ueshima Tadao Shoten. After becoming a limited partnership in 1940, the business was incorporated as Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd. in 1951. The company later adopted the name UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd. in 1991. UCC's historical importance in Japan's beverage industry is closely associated with the development of canned coffee. In April 1969, it introduced UCC Coffee with Milk, identified by the company and reference materials as the world's first canned coffee. The product helped establish canned coffee as a distinct and widely consumed category in Japan, where ready-to-drink coffee became an important part of vending-machine, convenience-store, and everyday beverage culture. The company's activities extend beyond packaged beverages. UCC is involved in coffee sourcing and cultivation, roasting and processing, sales, coffee-shop operations, and coffee equipment. Its wider holdings and affiliated operations include a Kona coffee farm in Hawaii, UCC Craighton Coffee Estate in Jamaica, UCC Ueshima Coffee Co. (America) Inc., UCC Europe Limited, and UCC ANZ Limited. These operations give the group connections to both coffee-growing regions and consumer markets outside Japan. UCC's product scope includes roasted coffee, ground coffee, instant coffee, canned and other ready-to-drink coffee, tea products, coffee-related equipment, and café offerings. The business combines a mass-market packaged-beverage presence with a quality-oriented emphasis on coffee origins, roasting, preparation, and professional service. Its cultivation and estate activities also provide a direct connection to coffee production rather than limiting the company to downstream manufacturing. The brand has also used entertainment collaborations to reach specialist and youth audiences. Its canned coffee appeared in the 1997 animated feature The End of Evangelion, followed by limited-edition can designs featuring the film's characters. UCC renewed the association for the Rebuild of Evangelion film series beginning with Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone in 2007 and created another character-themed limited release in connection with Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance in 2009. The cans became notable collector items and helped make UCC particularly visible among anime fans in Japan and internationally. UCC is therefore best understood not only as a coffee product label but as an integrated coffee company with manufacturing, sourcing, cultivation, equipment, retail, and international activities. Its defining heritage is the popularization of canned coffee, while its contemporary identity spans household beverages, professional coffee solutions, and café culture under the broader UCC Group.
History
UCC Ueshima Coffee Co. began in 1933 when Tadao Ueshima established a coffee business called Ueshima Tadao Shoten. The original enterprise developed during a period when coffee was becoming an increasingly recognizable commercial product in Japan. In 1940 it was reorganized as a limited partnership, and in 1951 it became Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd. The company's most consequential contribution came in 1969. In April of that year, UCC launched UCC Coffee with Milk in a can. The product is identified in reference material as the world's first canned coffee. Its introduction helped create and popularize the canned-coffee format in Japan, a category that subsequently became strongly associated with vending machines, convenience retail, transportation hubs, and workplace consumption. This innovation gave UCC a distinctive place in Japanese beverage history and made the company more than a conventional coffee roaster or café operator. UCC continued to develop as a vertically oriented coffee business. Its activities have included coffee cultivation and sourcing, processing, roasting, packaged beverage manufacturing, sales, coffee-shop management, and equipment. The UCC Group's international footprint includes a Kona coffee farm in Hawaii, UCC Craighton Coffee Estate in Jamaica, UCC Ueshima Coffee Co. (America) Inc., UCC Europe Limited in London, and UCC ANZ Limited serving Australia and New Zealand. These holdings and affiliates connect the business with coffee-growing regions, overseas distribution, and professional coffee markets. In 1991, the company formally became UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd. The name preserved the Ueshima family identity while foregrounding the UCC abbreviation, which stands for Ueshima Coffee Company. The company is headquartered in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, and operates as part of the broader UCC Group. Marketing has been another notable part of the brand's history. UCC canned coffee was featured in the 1997 animated film The End of Evangelion. In conjunction with the film's makers, UCC released six can designs depicting Evangelion characters holding or associated with the company's products. The designs became sought-after collectibles and broadened the brand's cultural visibility beyond ordinary beverage advertising. UCC later continued the relationship with the Rebuild of Evangelion film series: a limited character-themed release accompanied the 2007 film Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, and another limited-edition can line was created for the 2009 film Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance. Today, UCC's identity combines Japanese packaged-coffee heritage with a broader coffee value chain. Its portfolio covers coffee and tea products, ready-to-drink formats, roasted and instant coffee, equipment, and café or foodservice activity. The company also maintains links to coffee estates and international subsidiaries. Its central historical distinction remains the introduction of canned coffee in 1969, while its wider business reflects an integrated approach spanning origin, processing, distribution, preparation, and consumption.
- 2024
Ueshima Coffee Co. changed its name to UCC Capital.
- 2009
UCC releases Evangelion: 2.0 limited-edition cans
[1]The company issues another character-themed canned-coffee line associated with Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.
- 2007
UCC collaborates on Evangelion: 1.0
[1]UCC continues its Evangelion partnership with a limited-edition can release tied to Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone.
- 2003
UCC introduced aroma-freezing technology at its Fuji factory and began developing Ueshima Coffee House.
- 1997
Evangelion collaboration begins
[1]UCC canned coffee appears in The End of Evangelion and is supported by a six-design character-themed can release.
- 1994
UCC Black Unsweetened launched.
- 1991
The company adopts the UCC Ueshima Coffee name
[1]The formal corporate name becomes UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd.
- 1989
UCC opened a company-operated Kona coffee farm in Hawaii.
- 1987
UCC opened the UCC Coffee Museum in Kobe and launched black unsweetened canned coffee.
- 1981
UCC opened a company-operated Blue Mountain coffee farm in Jamaica.
Products and positioning
A quality-oriented Japanese coffee company combining accessible packaged beverages with coffee cultivation, roasting expertise, professional equipment, cafés, and international sourcing. A Japanese coffee company with an end-to-end coffee focus, combining consumer products and café experiences with sourcing, quality assurance, research, sustainability, and coffee education.
Canned coffee · 1969
UCC Coffee with Milk
UCC's landmark canned coffee introduced in April 1969. The milk coffee format helped make canned coffee a mainstream beverage category in Japan and remains central to the company's historical identity.
Ready-to-drink coffee · 1969
UCC canned coffee
A broad family of portable, ready-to-drink coffee products associated with UCC's pioneering role in canned coffee. The format has also supported limited-edition packaging and entertainment collaborations.
Packaged coffee
UCC roasted and ground coffee
Packaged coffee made from roasted beans and sold for preparation at home or in professional settings. This category reflects UCC's core capabilities in coffee sourcing, roasting, processing, and distribution.
Instant coffee
UCC instant coffee
Soluble coffee products intended for convenient preparation. Instant coffee forms part of UCC's wider household coffee portfolio alongside roasted, ground, and ready-to-drink formats.
Tea
UCC tea products
Tea products manufactured and marketed within UCC's beverage portfolio. They extend the company's packaged-drink activity beyond coffee while retaining its focus on everyday hot and cold beverages.
Coffee equipment and foodservice
UCC coffee equipment and professional solutions
Equipment and related coffee services for cafés, restaurants, offices, and other professional users. This activity connects UCC's packaged products with preparation, brewing, and foodservice operations.
UCC Gold Special Premium
Household regular coffee product launched in 1977. A UCC coffee range promoted on the official site, including limited-time offerings.
UCC TOTONOU by BLACK Unsweetened
Unsweetened canned coffee; the product was launched in 1994. A conditioning-coffee concept featured in official product announcements.
UCC Coffee Tanken
A UCC coffee offering featured on the official site.
UCC &Healthy
An instant-coffee product line featured in official product announcements.
Marketing campaigns
- 2009Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance tie-in
Japan
UCC released another limited line of character-themed canned coffee in connection with the second Rebuild of Evangelion film.
Outcome. The recurring collaboration reinforced UCC's position in anime-oriented promotional marketing and collectible beverage packaging.
- 2007Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone tie-in
Japan
UCC renewed its Evangelion partnership for the first Rebuild of Evangelion film and issued limited-edition cans carrying illustrations of the film's characters.
Outcome. The campaign extended the earlier collectible-packaging strategy to a new Evangelion film series.
- 1997The End of Evangelion collaboration
Japan · International anime-fan communities
UCC canned coffee was featured in The End of Evangelion. A coordinated release of six cans featuring Evangelion characters turned ordinary packaging into collectible merchandise and increased the brand's visibility among anime fans.
Outcome. The cans became prized collector items and established a durable association between UCC and Evangelion fandom.
Brand decisions
2000
Ended the vending-machine businessOther1997
Evangelion branded-can partnershipOtherBackground
The End of Evangelion provided an opportunity to connect a mass-market beverage with a high-profile animated property and its dedicated audience.
Action taken
UCC placed its canned coffee in the film and produced six character-themed can designs.
Aftermath
The packaging gained collector interest and the partnership was later repeated for the Rebuild of Evangelion films.
1991
Adoption of the UCC Ueshima Coffee corporate nameStrategyBackground
After decades of operating as Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd., the company formalized a name centered on the UCC abbreviation and the Ueshima heritage.
Action taken
The legal corporate name was changed to UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd.
Aftermath
The new name aligned the operating company more closely with the UCC brand and the broader UCC Group.
1969
Launch of UCC Coffee with Milk in a canProduct launchBackground
UCC sought to offer coffee in a portable format suitable for immediate consumption. The initiative created a commercially important canned-coffee proposition.
Action taken
The company introduced UCC Coffee with Milk in April 1969.
Aftermath
The launch helped start the canned-coffee trend in Japan and became the company's defining product innovation.
Recent events
- 1997
UCC canned coffee appears in The End of Evangelion tie-in campaign[1]
Campaign · Product launch
UCC partnered with the makers of The End of Evangelion. The film featured UCC canned coffee, and a six-can character-design release attracted attention from anime fans and collectors.
- 1991
UCC changes its corporate name to UCC Ueshima Coffee Co.[1]
Other
The company formally adopted the name UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd., aligning its legal identity with the UCC brand.
- 1969
UCC introduces UCC Coffee with Milk, helping establish canned coffee in Japan[1]
Product launch · Product generation
UCC launched UCC Coffee with Milk in a can. The product is described in reference material as the world's first canned coffee and became a foundation of Japan's canned-coffee category.
Sources5 sources
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