After sriracha sauce, the next logical step was soy sauce, Cassius said. And the biggest manufacturer of soy sauce in the world is Kikkoman.

“It’s in our DNA to do things about food,” he said.

How things got rolling

Cassius said he approached the company in 2017, first through its San Francisco office and then in Tokyo.

At first, Kikkoman Corp. did not know what to make of the suggestion, he said. And then Kinya Igarashi of Kikkoman’s foreign operations department in Tokyo stepped in, liked the idea, and helped Primitive get the project approved.

“Primitive Skateboarding approached us with an idea for a collaboration that combines our long-standing history of quality and innovation with their cutting-edge products,” Igarashi said. “We are constantly searching for authentic ways to build meaningful connections with our consumers, and the Primitive Skateboarding collaboration is a unique and exciting crossover for us.”

Igarashi said Kikkoman was involved in previous licensing agreements, usually for T-shirts, but this is the first time the company has signed on for a line of clothing and skateboards.

Primitive did the product design, Igarashi said.