Cooking x Entertainment Kitchen Products

Written by: Rebecca Milner on May 6, 2009 at 4:52 am | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS | No Comments

The trend for kitchen gadgets with entertainment value, which we’ve been charting for some time now, continues to turn out new products. Takara Tomy and Bandai are mostly behind this, introducing new products that lead the trend into different directions.

On one hand there are those gadgets that zero in on foods currently in vogue, like the “Nama (fresh) Caramel Pot” from Takara Tomy (released April 30, retails for ¥3,129). Fresh caramel is a fashionable sweet at the moment and this kitchen product offers users the opportunity to make their own version—in the microwave and with little chance of frustration or failure.

Then there are those that turn the process into a game and make a family activity out of meal preparation. Bandai’s latest item in its successful Cook Joy series, the Nagashi Somen Somenya (flowing soumen noodle shop), is a good example (released on April 18 and retails for ¥8,400).

Somen (thin noodles eaten chilled during the summer months), when served nagashi-style, are sent down a bamboo chute. During the course of the journey they cool, become sprinkled with toppings and are picked up with chopsticks. This fun, though elaborate to set up, dish would be served in a festive group setting. Bandai’s version, which looks like a children’s game or a miniature water slide, manages to bring “nagashi soumen” to the dinner table.

Meanwhile a trip to the trend-setting, upscale variety store Ginza Hands demonstrates that those gadgets that succeed in making food cuter, both in presentation and in process, are enjoying continued popularity.

Trend Potential
With cost-cutting related to home finances keeping many Japanese out of the restaurants, eating in is an attractive alternative. Even more so if the entertainment value of going out can be brought into the home.

Tags: food, kitchen
Category: LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, DIGITAL LIFE

Mister Donut debuts mochi flour donut line-up

Written by: Rebecca Milner on January 19, 2009 at 5:28 pm | In MARKETING IDEAS | 1 Comment

Japan’s ubiquitous fast-sweets chain Mister Donut has a new winter line-up of “Japanese-style” donuts made from rice flour. The three-donut line-up includes toppings such as black sesame, soy powder, and crispy bits of arare (small rice crackers)—all elements found in traditional Japanese sweets and snacks. The promotional image even features the fusion donuts on a dried bamboo leaf, the same kind that occasionally wraps mochi cakes or other old-time sweets.

Mr Donut is calling the donuts “mochhiri,” or mochi-like in that soft, chewy way that is unique to rice-based products. This makes yet another neat example of a western product being given a Japanese traditional make-over (and is also probably a way to encourage those customers who recently abandoned their local Mister Donut in favor of the flashy and decidedly foreign Krispy Kreme to come back). However it also seems strikingly reminiscent of a certain hit food item from last year—the moffle.

Meanwhile, convenience store chain Lawson has also introduced a series of breads and cakes made from rice flour, reporting last week that since the line-up debuted in July the company has sold over 2,000,000 items. Convinced that they’ve hit on a growing trend, Lawson has a plan in the works to release an expanded collection of rice flour treats over the next few weeks in questionably tempting (but obviously well-researched) flavors like potato curry, soy bean, and brown sugar.

Tags: Back to Japan, FMCG, food
Category: MARKETING IDEAS
Other categories: DIGITAL LIFE, LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Veggie sweets and snacks get fashionable

Written by: Rebecca Milner on January 8, 2009 at 11:57 pm | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION, MARKETING IDEAS | 1 Comment

I hate to keep harping on this vegetable boom going on Japan, but on the other hand, it is interesting to see a trend become, well, actually a trend. As in one that show some significant trajectory and a whole lot of new product developments. If the last year was all about drinkable veggies (a move that created some pretty unlikely combinations like the tomato flavored liquor) then the current convenient store situation is all about vegetable snacks and sweets.

Major confectionaries like Meito and Fujiya have weighed in with items such as pumpkin pudding and sweet potato flavored cookies, respectively. Snack giant Calbee now has a whole line of vegetable snacks including hits like Vegips. Meanwhile Socio has carved out an image of using “farm fresh ingredients” in snack products like the colorful sweet potato chips pictured below (right).

Really, there is just too many to mention individually. Suffice to say that the convenience store is looking a lot healthier these days.

It was upon discovering these tomato and sweet potato chocolates produced by patisserie Potager on the shelves, however, that a connection appeared between the trendy cake shop and products like sweet potato cookies being on the shelves now.

Located in fashionable Nakameguro, Potager always seems to have a crowd these days of women lined up to purchase such goodies as “tomato cheesecake” and “turnip roll cake.”

Though the shop/café has been around for a couple of years now it has continued to pick up a steady stream of media (most recently in TV Japan, Elle a la Table, and Biteki magazines and appearing on Fuji TV), casting a spotlight on 31-year-old head chef Aya Kakisawa.

Tags: Convenience Stores, FMCG, food
Category: LIFESTYLE / FASHION, MARKETING IDEAS
Other categories: DIGITAL LIFE, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Appetite for veggies continues: Soda, supplements, and more

Written by: Rebecca Milner on December 2, 2008 at 3:17 pm | In MARKETING IDEAS | No Comments

Last year vegetables were all the rage—most notably in the drinkable alcoholic form of hit beverages like Tomate. Since then we’ve seen not only an increasing number of straight up veggie drinks on the shelves but other typical convenience store fare like yogurt and pudding spiked with carrots, pumpkin and the like.

And now soda. Kimura beverages, has launched a line of “Yasaider,” combining the Japanese word for vegetable, “yasai,” and “cider,” the sweet lemon lime soda. The first flavor in the line up is tomato. Each 300ml bottle boasts of 10mg lycopene. Incidentally, the same company’s other new beverages include curry and durian flavored non-alcoholic sparkling beverages.

Then there is a new line of health supplements from food giant Itoen’s Maison Natural line, which essentially consists of dehydrated vegetables—though notably domestic ones like burdock root, sweet potato, lotus root, and potherb mustard. These “Domestic Vegetable” supplements (below left), which also include additional iron and folic acid, bring the healthy appetite for veggies back around into the wellness industry.

Speaking of foodstuffs meets wellness, we also liked these “kakipi” (above right)—a bar snack staple of rice crackers and peanuts—from Denroku that come with the added benefit of ukon. Ukon is often consumed in its more raw supplement form before heading out to drink as a way of combating the subsequent hangover. But since we are going to be munching on these tasty salty snacks anyway, the combination is naturally appealing to us!

Tags: beverages, FMCG, food, health, supplements, Wellness
Category: MARKETING IDEAS
Other categories: DIGITAL LIFE, LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

The Sushi Deco Cake

Written by: Rebecca Milner on November 28, 2008 at 11:17 pm | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION | 1 Comment

We’ve looked at the trend of cute and decorative lunchboxes for kids, but what about grown-ups? Surely Japan’s tradition of exquisite food displays has something innovative in the works for those who are old enough to actually appreciate the work involved. Enter the Sushi Deco Cake from Ryu Gu Jo Sushi Studio.

The birthday candle numbers and decidedly not sweet ingredients suggest that these cakes are designed for the (increasingly) older population in mind. Not to mention the prices, which run from ¥5,250 to ¥6,830 depending on the fish used. Though considering we spot some delectable looking uni below, they are considerably reasonable.

This is also a nice example of taking a western import, the birthday cake, and bringing it back to Japan.

Tags: Back to Japan, food
Category: LIFESTYLE / FASHION
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, DIGITAL LIFE, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS