In September we introduced RIKYU Private Label with a deliberately narrow offer: one matcha, one can, from just 100 cans. The service menu is now wider. You can put any matcha or hojicha in our lineup under your own name, choose between two formats, and decide how the can is finished — plain, labelled, or printed with your design.
The starting point has not moved. It is still no big commitment and no warehouse: you choose, and we fill, seal and finish it in Japan, ready to sell under your name. What has changed is how many of the decisions are now yours.
If you are new to the service, our original introduction explains why we built it around a 100-can first run. This article covers what has been added since.
What's New
Sachet-in-Can. A second format that opens private label to any of the 13 products in our lineup, from 200 per size.
Sachets on their own. The same sealed sachets are also sold without the can.
A gold can. Available for the 40g Sachet-in-Can, alongside silver, white and black.
Label stickers, printed and applied. We print your label and apply it to every can.
Original print on the can. Your design printed on the lid, the body, or both.
Three Decisions, in Order
The whole service now comes down to three choices. First the matcha: YMSC comes in both formats, and every other product is available as a sachet. Then the format: Direct-Fill Can or Sachet-in-Can. Then the finish: a plain can, a label sticker, or your design printed on the can.
Format One: Direct-Fill Can
The Direct-Fill Can in silver, white and black, with the taller 80g size on the right.
This is the format we launched with, and it is unchanged. YMSC, our first-harvest Kagoshima matcha, is filled straight into your can, nitrogen-flushed, and sealed with a tamper-evident steel pull-top under a screw-top lid. It remains the simplest way to launch.
Direct fill is available for YMSC only. It comes in four sizes — 20g, 30g, 40g and 80g — in silver, white or black, with the 20g in silver only. The minimum is 100 cans per size, one colour per 100 cans.
Format Two: Sachet-in-Can
The Sachet-in-Can in silver, white and black, plus gold for the 40g. Far right: the can with its lid off.
The question we heard most after the first announcement was some version of: can I do this with a different matcha? Now you can. Pick any matcha or hojicha from our lineup — 13 products across Uji, Yame, Shizuoka and Kagoshima matcha, plus hojicha — and we seal it in an aluminium sachet with an oxygen absorber, then place it in your screw-top can.
In our first article we made the case for filling direct, and for YMSC we still think it is the cleanest route. But direct fill ties the programme to a single matcha. The sachet is what lets a café retail the same matcha it already pours, or lets a brand build a range — a matcha and a hojicha, side by side — rather than a single product.
Sachet-in-Can comes in 30g and 40g, in silver, white or black, with gold also available for the 40g. The minimum is 200 per size, and you choose one colour per 100 cans — so a 200-unit run can be split across two colours.
The sachets are also available on their own, without the can — useful if you already have packaging you like. For sachet-only orders, sizes other than 30g and 40g are available on request.
Which Format Is Yours?
If you want YMSC and the simplest possible launch, choose Direct-Fill: the lower minimum, four sizes, and nothing between the matcha and the can. If the matcha itself is the decision — a specific origin, a hojicha, the same matcha your café already serves — choose Sachet-in-Can.
Direct-Fill is the simplest way to launch. Sachet-in-Can is the way to launch with exactly the matcha you want.
YMSC is the one product available both ways, so if you are undecided, that is the safe place to start.
Three Ways to Finish the Can
In the first version of this service, labels were something you arranged yourself or asked us about. They are now part of the menu, alongside a new option to print directly on the can.
A — Plain can. Ready for your own labels. If you already have a printer and a designer you trust, this is all you need from us.
B — Label sticker. We print your label and apply it to every can. What arrives is sealed, labelled and shelf-ready.
C — Original print on the can. Your design printed on the lid, the body, or both. The printing plate is made once, for your first order.
For a simple design, we can prepare it for you. If you have a specific design in mind, please send us your artwork.
Can Specifications
Every can shares the same 60 mm diameter; the size sets the height.
Lead Time and Pricing
Both formats typically take 1–4 weeks.
Pricing depends on the matcha, the format and the quantity, so rather than publish a table that won't match your spec, we send the price list on request. Tell us what you have in mind and we will send the price list and a quotation. Shipping and duties are quoted separately, and a detailed quotation is issued for every order.
Specifications at a Glance
Direct-Fill Can
Matcha — YMSC, first harvest, Kagoshima
Freshness — nitrogen-flushed and sealed
Can — screw-top can with steel pull-top seal
Sizes — 20g, 30g, 40g, 80g
Colours — silver, white, black (20g: silver only)
Minimum — 100 cans per size, one colour per 100 cans
Lead time — typically 1–4 weeks
Sachet-in-Can
Matcha — any of 13 products: Uji, Yame, Shizuoka and Kagoshima matcha, plus hojicha
Freshness — oxygen absorber in every sachet
Can — screw-top can
Sizes — 30g, 40g (sachet only: other sizes on request)
Colours — silver, white, black (40g: also gold)
Minimum — 200 per size, one colour per 100 cans
Lead time — typically 1–4 weeks
Finishing Options
A — plain can, ready for your own labels
B — label sticker, printed and applied by us
C — original print on the lid, the body, or both
Starting Your Run
Tell us three things and we can quote you: which matcha, which format, and which finish — along with the size, colour and quantity you have in mind. If you are not sure yet, tell us instead what you want the can to be — a retail line, a gift, a café take-home — and we will suggest the spec.
And as before, we would rather you taste it first. Ask for a sample of the matcha you are considering before you put your name on it.
Quotation and enquiries: rikyu@teamfriends.co.jp
📩 Contact us: Request a sample or get in touch with our team
