Yasutomo and Company was established in June 1954 by Mr. Ben Yasutomo. A man of vision, Mr. Yasutomo believed that global marketing was possible back in the 1950s because he recognized that consumers in both the U.S. and Japan wanted products from the other's country. He decided to set up an office in San Francisco, strategically located to develop commerce between the two countries. The initial goal was to supply stationery and artist materials from Japan to the U.S. and to distribute American candy and snack food products to Japan.