Japan’s Okinawa-based Co-Op Okinawa is to import and sell Lao-Lao (Lao rice whisky) brand “Chura Lao” in Okinawa from as early as the beginning of next year.
Co-Op Okinawa aims to sell about 7,000 bottles in 2020. Each 500ml-bottle will be sold at JPY 1,000 (USD 9).
The Japanese firm plans to donate part of its profits to local Lao communities to help overcome poverty.
Co-Op Okinawa established a group dubbed “Lao-Lao Alcohol Co-op” in Laos in 2017 that consists of 39 Lao women to produce Chura Lao.
Later in 2018, the Japanese company set up a factory in Laos for mass-production of the alcohol brand and trained a total of four Lao women to manage and oversee the Lao operation. About 8,000 bottles of Chura Lao was sold at restaurants and hotels across Laos so far.
