Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Monday, December 16th.

Today on Forbes, Inside the Food Industry's biggest buyback of 2024.

The labels on Mr. Yoshida's Japanese-style barbecue sauce have long featured a photo of its

charismatic founder, Junki Yoshida, in his signature look, a cowboy hat,

glasses, and a wide Yihaha smile. The joy emanating from his grinning, floating head

is a key part of the image that Yoshida has fostered over the past four decades as his brand grew.

Yoshida, who recently turned 75 years old, says, quote,

that history of a great American dream is still surviving in this country. It's me.

The optimism belies what has been a sweet and sour ride for Yoshida.

After the Kyoto-born entrepreneur moved to Seattle at age 19, his family renounced him.

So there was a soupsaint of revenge stirred into the recipe when, in 1982, he started creating

a sauce in his Oregon basement, inspired by what his mother had sold at her restaurant in Japan.

The eponymous brand he launched grew into a major success, with sales of $25 million

before the U.S. distribution rights were acquired in 2000 for $24 million by the American

food giant, Heinz, now called Kraft Heinz. And then, a business that Yoshida claims had

commanded 26% of America's total terriaki sales

slowly got killed over the past two decades. But Yoshida didn't let that end his story.

His repurchase of Mr. Yoshitas was the most significant food buyback of 2024, and the early

success of its return to Costco, Sam's Club, Safeway, and

Albertsons, as well as its first-ever launch on Amazon, has paved the way for Mr. Yoshidas to

regain its position as a major player in the condiments industry. With the same grin featured

on his labels, he says, quote,

...