Kikkoman India Releases Part Two of “VARUN & PRAMOD” Manga Series

Kikkoman India Private Limited (KID), the Kikkoman Group's local subsidiary in India, has released the second story in its promotional manga series, "VARUN & PRAMOD."

Created primarily for restaurant owners and chefs in India, the series leverages the popularity of Japanese manga culture to showcase the many appeals of Kikkoman Soy Sauce. In addition to English, the manga is available in five Indian languages—Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali—for a total of six languages, enabling KID to reach a broad audience across India's diverse linguistic landscape.

In part one, set in a Chinese restaurant in Delhi, chef Pramod and young owner Varun meet and join forces to revive a struggling restaurant. United by their shared belief in bringing smiles to people through delicious food, they take the first step toward rebuilding the business by using Kikkoman Naturally Brewed Soy Sauce as their "secret ingredient." The story highlights how the umami and aroma of soy sauce can harmonize and enhance an entire dish.

With part two, the story continues. Although the newly reopened "Varun & Pramod" restaurant is confident in the quality of its food, it continues to struggle with low customer traffic. Matters become even more challenging when Pramod's former boss—who is looking to purchase the restaurant—confronts them and imposes a harsh condition: if they cannot turn the restaurant into a popular destination within one month, they must give it up.

To overcome this challenge, Varun and Pramod set out to develop new menu items featuring India's distinctive spices. However, despite repeated trial and error, they find that spices alone cannot fuse the flavors. The key ultimately proves to be Kikkoman Soy Sauce. By adding soy sauce, they are able to harmonize the layers of spice flavors while enhancing the natural taste of the ingredients. The resulting signature sauce becomes the foundation of their specialty menu, and their newly created dish, "8×8," begins to win praise from customers.

As positive word of mouth spreads, the restaurant gradually gains popularity. The story portrays how a restaurant looking to revitalize its business is able to enhance its value and embark on a new phase of growth through the simple yet impactful addition of soy sauce.

Combining the accessible format of Japanese manga with a multilingual rollout, this series represents a unique promotional initiative that reaches chefs across India while intuitively communicating the value of Kikkoman Soy Sauce as a seasoning that makes Chinese and other Asian cuisines more delicious. Through content such as this, KID will continue working to expand awareness of the Kikkoman brand and create new demand in the Indian market.