Asahi Beer's "Fresh Draft Can," which uses a can coating material co-developed by Toyochem Co., Ltd. (President and CEO Yasuyoshi Ariguchi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo), part of the artience Group, and Asahi Breweries, Ltd. (President and CEO Kazuo Matsuyama, Sumida-ku, Tokyo), has received the Invention Award at the 2026 National Invention Awards. In connection with this achievement, two Toyochem developers attended the award ceremony held on June 15, 2026. Award Ceremony Highlights (June 15, 2026, at The Okura Tokyo) Coatings are applied to the interior surfaces of beverage and food cans to protect the can from its contents (corrosion prevention) and to prevent metallic components from leaching into the contents, which could alter flavor. The can coating material developed by Toyochem, leveraging its proprietary polymer design technology, has long been used for interior coatings of beer cans. The coating used in Asahi Beer's "Fresh Draft Can" was co-developed by Toyochem and Asahi Breweries, based on a concept that completely reverses the conventional wisdom that "beer foam overflowing from a can is a failure." The key technical innovation lies in the "micro-crater-like uneven structure" formed by the special coating applied to the inside of the can. By arranging 200 to 1,200 uneven features with diameters of 5–20μm per 1mm2, and combining them densely with even smaller uneven features under 0.5–5μm in diameter, the technology enables a continuous, fine stream of foam to rise when the can is opened, triggered by the sudden change in internal pressure. Toyochem will continue to match its proprietary polymer design and coating technologies with customer needs, delivering value that resonates with people's sensibilities in collaboration with its customers. Developer Comments We are deeply honored that the "Fresh Draft Can," which incorporates our can coating technology, has been awarded the Invention Award. The development of the "Fresh Draft Can" began when our past R&D failure