Pocari Sweat

Pocari Sweat (Japanese: ポカリスエット, Pokari Suetto) is a Japanese sports drink, manufactured by Otsuka Pharmaceutical. It was launched in 1980, and is now also available in East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Australia and Mexico.[1]

Not to be confused with Picardy sweat.

Pocari Sweat
Product typeSports drink
Produced byOtsuka Pharmaceutical
CountryJapan
Introduced1980
MarketsEast Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East
Websitepocarisweat.jp

Pocari Sweat is a mild-tasting, relatively light, non-carbonated sweet beverage and is advertised as an "ion supply drink", "refreshment water" (1992), "body request" (1999), and "electrolyte beverage" in Thailand. It has a mild grapefruit flavor with little aftertaste. Ingredients listed are water, sugar, citric acid, trisodium citrate, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium lactate, magnesium carbonate, and flavoring.[2] It is sold in aluminium cans, PET bottles, and as a powder for mixing with water. An artificially sweetened version with reduced sugar called Pocari Sweat Ion Water (ポカリスエット イオンウォーター, Pokari Suetto Ion Wōtā) is also sold.[3]

Nomenclature
A Vietnamese infographic indicating the similar ionic content of Pocari Sweat to bodily fluids as compared to the lack thereof in water.

The reference to sweat in the name of the beverage might have a somewhat off-putting or mildly humorous connotation for some native English speakers. However, the name was chosen by the manufacturers originally for the purpose of marketing the product as a sports drink in Japan,[4] where English words are used differently. It was largely derived from the notion of what it is intended to supply to the drinker: all of the nutrients and electrolytes lost when sweating.[5][6] The first part of the name, Pocari, gives a refreshing impression. The Otsuka Pharmaceutical's official FAQ webpage (in Japanese only) states: "'Pocari' was named for its light nuance and bright sound, and it has no particular meaning.(「ポカリ」は、語感の軽い明るい響きを持つ言葉としてつけたもので、特別な意味はありません。)" [7][8]

Lunar Dream Capsule project

On 15 May 2014, Pocari Sweat started a project to send a "dream capsule" to the Moon. The capsule will have the same shape as a Pocari Sweat can and will be filled with Pocari Sweat powder. Once it arrives, Pocari Sweat will be the first commercial product advertised on the Moon.[9] Originally scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in October 2015,[10] it is currently booked on an Astrobotic Technology lander which will launch in 2021.[11]

See also

References
  1. "POCARI SWEAT México | Bebida Hidratante de origen Japonés". www.pocarisweat.com.mx. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
  2. "Welcome to Pocari Sweat Website". Pocarisweat.com.ph. Archived from the original on 2012-11-22. Retrieved 2012-11-09.
  3. "価格.com - 大塚製薬 ポカリスエット イオンウォーター レビュー評価・評判" (in Japanese). Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  4. Global Business Languages, pp.18-19 Tracy L. Melin, Nina M. Ray, 2005
  5. "Maeda-Use/Misuse of Loan-words". iteslj.org.
  6. Herbig, Paul A. (1998). Handbook of cross-cultural marketing. Binghamton, NY: International Business Press. pp. 3. ISBN 0-7890-0154-3.
  7. https://www.otsuka.co.jp/faq/pocarisweat/01.html
  8. "History of Pocari Sweat" by PocariID (in Indonesian). YouTube. Uploaded on 17 March 2011.
  9. Pocari Sweat is putting the first ever ad on the lunar surface, techinasia.com
  10. Sports Drink Set for Moon Mission; But, Why?, devicemag.com
  11. Galchen, Rivka (29 April 2019). "The Race to Develop the Moon". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
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