Yakult Europe B.V., located in Almere, is the European headquarters of the Yakult Group in Europe. Yakult Europe B.V. is a subsidiary of the Japanese multinational Yakult Honsha Co. Ltd., located in Tokyo Japan. The Japanese scientist Dr. Shirota, the founder of Yakult, produced the first bottle Yakult, a fermented milk drink with L. casei Shirota bacteria in 1935. Yakult is worldwide known as a science-based company, specialized in probiotics and other functional food products. Yakult is currently sold in 40 countries and produced in 39 factories worldwide. Since 1994, Yakult has been produced in Almere for the Netherlands and 12 other European countries.