Tracing Bachan's From Kitchen to Company

One family word, generations of history

A single family term frames the brand: Bachan is grandma. For Bachan's founder and CEO Justin Gill, that term also points toward the Bachan's Japanese Barbecue Sauce recipe his relatives kept for generations.

Justin Gill with his Bachan, Judy Yokoyama

History and instruction meet in Judy Yokoyama's story. Judy Yokoyama was Justin Gill's Bachan, born in Sebastopol, CA in 1936; after a two-year displacement in a Japanese internment camp, Judy passed the Japanese barbecue sauce method to Justin and his parents.

Judy Yokoyama packing bottles of the family sauce

Proximity shaped the learning: Bachan was on the same property, and Justin regularly joined her and his grandfather for food. Through recipes and kitchen work, Judy made the family's Japanese-American traditions available to the next generation.

A Bachan's family cooking memory

Growing up, Justin worked in the family's landscape company; at year's end, he took on another family task. He accompanied his father while they delivered bottles drawn from the large sauce batch made for the holidays.

The Bachan's family making sauce together

Food keeps the conversation in Bold, Fresh, Umami Flavor™

In the Bachan's narrative, recipes function like family records that can be eaten and shared. Repeating them lets older memories reach younger relatives without becoming fixed in the past.

Justin Gill, Judy Yokoyama, and the Bachan's family

Our Ingredients Matter®

The Bachan's process follows the priorities of Justin's family recipe: careful, high-quality ingredients that are non-GMO, followed by cold-fill production so the formula needs neither additives nor preservatives nor extra flavorings.

Japanese Barbecue Sauces

Green onion, ginger, and garlic
Green Onion, Ginger and Garlic
Three named aromatics work together here: ginger, green onion and organic garlic.
Traditionally brewed soy sauce
Non-GMO Traditionally Brewed Soy Sauce
Bachan's premium non-GMO soy sauce is traditionally brewed according to methods hundreds of years old.
Aged Japanese mirin
Aged Japanese Mirin
High-quality mirin from Japan reaches Bachan's through family-owned suppliers working for generations.
Organic rice vinegar
Organic Rice Vinegar
The organic rice comes from US fields before traditional brewing turns it into organic rice vinegar aged for a month.

Japanese Dipping Sauces

Stone-ground sesame
Stone Ground Sesame
The thicker texture comes from Neri Goma—stone-ground roasted sesame prepared for creaminess.
Crushed sesame seeds
Crushed Sesame Seeds
The added flavor dimension belongs to Suri Goma: real crushed sesame for a distinct second layer.
White miso
White Miso
The sauce uses white miso from fermented rice and soybeans to add mellow sweet-savory complexity.
Ginger
Ginger
The real ginger gives the profile its zesty, bright lift.