FARM8 announced on May 15, 2026 the full launch of “V-SAKE Collection,” a sake collaboration project where VTubers co-create with Niigata breweries, alongside the selection of Takano Brewery in Nishi Ward, Niigata City as the Season 2 partner brewery and the opening of recruitment for 10 participating VTubers. At the core of the project is “Voice Pairing,” a new experience in which a QR code on the bottle plays an exclusive voice recording.

“Voice Pairing”: A New Experience Layering “Your Favorite’s Voice” Over Sake

What “V-SAKE Collection” proposes is “Voice Pairing,” an experience concept that layers a new dimension—”your favorite’s voice”—on top of sake. Scanning the QR code on the bottle delivers an exclusive voice recording made just for that particular sake straight to the fan’s ears. The combination of sight (the limited-edition label), taste (junmai ginjo), and “your favorite’s voice” creates a toast experience that simply did not exist before.

Even with the same bottle of sake, the flavor changes depending on who you drink with, where, and in what mood. “Voice Pairing” is an attempt to re-present this everyday truth through the power of technology and culture, and a cup taken while listening to your favorite’s voice becomes a special moment that is no longer just junmai ginjo.

The Mechanism for “Delivering Voice”—Koetag Technology Powers the Audio Experience

The technical foundation that makes “Voice Pairing” possible is “Koetag,” a voice distribution solution provided by Itachi Inc. The philosophy of Koetag—embedding “voice” into physical objects—intersects with the concept of “V-SAKE Collection,” which layers VTuber voices onto the traditional culture of sake, giving rise to a new experience that crosses digital and physical worlds.

As a Culture Born in Niigata—Season 2 Starts with Takano Brewery

The Season 1 partner brewery was Tsunan Brewery (Tsunan Town, Naka-Uonuma District, Niigata Prefecture), where VTuber voices were embedded in sake brewed in deep-snow country. Among the “limited bottles,” “coaster sets,” and “wooden masu sets” developed for each VTuber, the limited-quantity wooden masu sets sold out the same day in many cases, and total project sales exceeded several hundred bottles.

Now, Season 2 has been set in motion, with Takano Brewery in Nishi Ward, Niigata City selected as the partner brewery. New VTuber voices will reside in sake brewed with new land and new water. VTuber recruitment is already underway via the official recruitment page, with up to 10 slots available for VTubers aged 20 or older—both independent VTubers and those affiliated with agencies are eligible.

Looking Ahead—Eyeing Collaborations with All Roughly 90 Niigata Breweries

According to FARM8, there are approximately 90 sake breweries within Niigata Prefecture, and each carries its own character—deep in snowy mountains, along the coast, or in town centers—producing entirely different bottles. The company says it plans to continue partnering with Niigata breweries from Season 3 onward, treating the countless combinations born from the encounter between brewery character and VTuber personality as a new toast culture originating in Niigata.

Editor’s Take

VTuber × regional collaborations have, until now, tended to stop at tourism PR or limited-edition merchandise. What “V-SAKE Collection” steps into is a structure that builds “voice” directly into the product experience itself. The moment the exclusive voice plays from the QR code on the bottle, fans are not buying “their favorite’s promotion” but rather “an evening of drinking side-by-side with their favorite.” The diversity of Niigata’s roughly 90 breweries paired one-to-one with the individuality of each VTuber yields extremely high replay value and could become an implementation that delivers a new consumer base to regional breweries as well. The editorial team will continue to watch what brewery × VTuber combinations emerge in Season 2 and beyond.

Source: PR TIMES