Ajinomoto Co., Inc. was created in 1908 as a subsidiary of Suzuki Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., itself founded in May 1907 by Saburosuke Suzuki II.
Ajinomoto was created to allow Dr. Kikunae Ikeda, a Professor at Tokyo Imperial University, to sell monosodium glutamate seasoning made from wheat that he had invented.
Ikeda created the seasoning after discovering that monosodium glutamate was the source of a flavor that he named "umami."
In April 1909, Ajinomoto presented Ikeda's seasoning under the brand name “AJI-NO-MOTO” at a new product exhibition event in Tokyo, and began selling the product the next month.
Ajinomoto primarily marketed the seasoning to housewives by using their trademark, a housewife in an apron, in newspaper advertisements, on signboards, and on ground stamps.

Output gradually increased, from 4.7 tons in 1910 to 23.3 tons in 1913, with sales reaching 400,000 yen.
In 1914 Ajinomoto built a new factory in Kawasaki to expand its production of the flavoring.
Japan's improved economy after World War I resulted in output hitting 84.6 tons and sales reaching 1,563,000 yen in 1918.
Despite rising sales, Ajinomoto experienced a deficit during its first ten years due to altering its methods of production and lowering its prices to get its product into ordinary households, among other reasons.
Because of rising Japanese exports after World War I, Ajinomoto opened offices in New York and Shanghai in 1917 and 1918, respectively.
In 1918 Ajinomoto exported 20.5 tons of its seasoning, accounting for a quarter of total sales.
The company opened new offices in Singapore and Hong Kong in 1927 and in Taiwan in 1929 to distribute their product throughout Southeast Asia.
Between 1920 and 1929, revenue from the sale of the seasoning rose from 2,799 thousand yen to 10,543 thousand yen, largely due to increased exports of the product to foreign markets.

To lower the cost of mass-producing the seasoning, its wheat was replaced with soybeans, since the price of soybeans at the time was lower than that of wheat.
In the United States, the seasoning, labeled by the FDA as a "Vegetable Protein Derivative," sold poorly on the consumer market.
Despite this, in 1931 Ajinomoto expanded their operations in the United States due to recent mass orders of the seasoning by H.J. Heinz, Co. and Campbell Soup Co.. Between 1931 and 1937, seasoning production increased from 1,077 tons to 3,750 tons, with revenue rising from 13 million yen to 27 million yen.
Due to Japan's increasing isolationism in the late 1930s, the production of AJI-NO-MOTO declined from 3,750 tons in 1937 to 2,339 tons in 1940.
Due to World War II, by 1942 production of the seasoning had been reduced to 1,000 tons, ceasing altogether by 1944.
Ajinomoto Co., Inc. was created in 1908 as a subsidiary of Suzuki Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., itself founded in May 1907 by Saburosuke Suzuki II. Ajinomoto was created to allow Dr. Kikunae Ikeda, a Professor at Tokyo Imperial University, to sell monosodium glutamate seasoning made from wheat that he had invented. Ikeda created the seasoning after discovering that monosodium glutamate was the source of a flavor that he named "umami." In April 1909, Ajinomoto presented Ikeda's seasoning under the brand name “AJI-NO-MOTO” at a new product exhibition event in Tokyo, and began selling the product the next month. Ajinomoto primarily marketed the seasoning to housewives by using their trademark, a housewife in an apron, in newspaper advertisements, on signboards, and on ground stamps.
Output gradually increased, from 4.7 tons in 1910 to 23.3 tons in 1913, with sales reaching 400,000 yen. In 1914 Ajinomoto built a new factory in Kawasaki to expand its production of the flavoring. Japan's improved economy after World War I resulted in output hitting 84.6 tons and sales reaching 1,563,000 yen in 1918. Despite rising sales, Ajinomoto experienced a deficit during its first ten years due to altering its methods of production and lowering its prices to get its product into ordinary households, among other reasons. Because of rising Japanese exports after World War I, Ajinomoto opened offices in New York and Shanghai in 1917 and 1918, respectively. In 1918 Ajinomoto exported 20.5 tons of its seasoning, accounting for a quarter of total sales. The company opened new offices in Singapore and Hong Kong in 1927 and in Taiwan in 1929 to distribute their product throughout Southeast Asia. Between 1920 and 1929, revenue from the sale of the seasoning rose from 2,799 thousand yen to 10,543 thousand yen, largely due to increased exports of the product to foreign markets.
To lower the cost of mass-producing the seasoning, its wheat was replaced with soybeans, since the price of soybeans at the time was lower than that of wheat. In the United States, the seasoning, labeled by the FDA as a "Vegetable Protein Derivative," sold poorly on the consumer market. Despite this, in 1931 Ajinomoto expanded their operations in the United States due to recent mass orders of the seasoning by H.J. Heinz, Co. and Campbell Soup Co.. Between 1931 and 1937, seasoning production increased from 1,077 tons to 3,750 tons, with revenue rising from 13 million yen to 27 million yen. Due to Japan's increasing isolationism in the late 1930s, the production of AJI-NO-MOTO declined from 3,750 tons in 1937 to 2,339 tons in 1940. Due to World War II, by 1942 production of the seasoning had been reduced to 1,000 tons, ceasing altogether by 1944.
Ajinomoto