Wine now in cans for long train journeys

Written by: Rebecca Milner on October 20, 2008 at 4:46 am | In MARKETING IDEAS | 9 Comments

Any cultural survival guide for visitors to Japan will tell you many things one should refrain from doing in public places such as on the street or subway, including eating and blowing one’s nose. When it comes to eating however, there are two notable exceptions: ice cream is basically acceptable anytime and anywhere and significant train journeys, particularly on the shinkansen, call for a special train lunch box, the ekiben.

Now Japan Rail East is encouraging the breaking of another social taboo, public alcohol consumption, with the launch of “Premium Can Wine,” designed for exclusive sale on shinkansen and limited express trains. Available in white or red, the wine comes from Monde Vineyard in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan’s small wine producing region.

The product, developed by JR Group’s Nippon Restaurant Enterprise, draws on the Japanese affinity for drinks in cans and the recent trend towards pairing wine appropriately matched for Japanese flavors with traditional food. Priced at ¥500 ($4.95), this 300ml “civilized” canned beverage includes a cup.

The same organization also reminds us that October 14th is Railway Day, in honor of which an Ekiben Fair was held at Tokyo station over the preceding three-day weekend. Visitors could choose from over 70 different lunch box sets specific to different regions and railways on the JR East map.

Many train stations are well-known for their ekibens, which have been drawing on the inclusion of famed local ingredients long before it was fashionable. Examples include the Ishikari salmon ekiben from Sapporo and the Masuno (trout) sushi ekiben from Toyama.

Update: I apologize for not making my point clearly. It is this: thanks to the ekiben, the Shinkansen has been a place exempt from the general taboo about eating in public. (The ekiben is noteworthy in that it appeals to all segments of the population, not just the salarymen who are typically the ones drinking on the train.) However, by marketing a drink specifically for sale on the trains (rather than just selling beer), JR has turned the Shinkansen into a more emphatic exemption and a niche market. I would also like to speculate that this product is targeting women, a segment of the Shikansen riding population that I don’t think you typically see downing beers.

Tags: alcohol, beverages, Localization, trains
Category: MARKETING IDEAS
Other categories: DIGITAL LIFE, LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Showa Era retro snacks at Lawson

Written by: Rebecca Milner on August 3, 2008 at 11:54 pm | In MARKETING IDEAS | No Comments

Lawson is currently featuring a special summer Showa Fair with a line-up of packaged snacks from the era. The 13 item series, available though August, includes long-selling favorites from the 60s to the 70s in their original package design. Although the Showa period technically lasted from 1926-1989, Lawson’s retrospective, and other similar ones, focus on the latter half.

Some, like Glico’s Pocky look wonderfully outdated while others, like Calbee’s Ebi-sen look pretty much the same as they always do.

Lotte is even bringing back its yellow packaged “Juicy and Fresh” gum, though with a modern update of extra vitamins. The prices are, unfortunately, all modern as well.

The Showa retro boom has been going strong for at least a year now, so it does seem like Lawson is getting into the game a little bit late. Perhaps it took that long to get all the different companies to cooperate. Or marketers who like beating a good boom to death. Either way, there is no time like the summer for nostalgia!

Or a cold glass bottle of cider. Three F is releasing a series of classic, locally inspired cider in seven varieties.

Included in the line-up is “Yokahama Cider,” supposedly where cider made its Japanese debut, and “Ramune Shop Cider,” with a Showa era label in homage to the original ramune, which reportedly first appeared in Tokyo’s Nakano district around Showa 30. Taste apparently differs based on the local water and fruit juices used.

Tags: beverages, Convenience Stores, FMCG, Lawson, Localization, Retro, Showa
Category: MARKETING IDEAS
Other categories: DIGITAL LIFE, LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Noodle News: newspaper tie-ins, heat therapy, tomatoes

Written by: Rebecca Milner on June 23, 2008 at 12:49 am | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION, MARKETING IDEAS | 4 Comments

Noodles, like beverages or snack foods, undergo constant reinvention in order to one-up the competition. With collaborations being the name of the current game, food manufacturer Kinrei has made an unlikely alliance with the popular Sunday Mainichi Weekly tabloid magazine.

The packaged cold noodles, Hakodate Flavor Salt Ramen, boasts of a broth made of kelp from the southern Hokkaido waters and 100% natural salt from the northern Okhotsk Sea among the ingredients. The soup was created by researching ramen and its production in the Hakodate region, the port town in southern Hokkaido famed for its ramen. An article about this process appears in the June 22 edition of the Sunday Mainichi Weekly, in addition to receiving the approval of the magazine staff.

Meanwhile, Nangatanien takes the niche route in offering “Cold Proof” cup noodle series that targets women who are sensitive to the cold with copious amounts of body warming ginger. New flavors for summer include the tempting Ginger Hot and Sour Vermicelli, Ginger Dan Dan Vermicelli, Ginger Coconut Curry Noodles, and Ginger Pork Soup Noodles.

Ms. Cold Proof, the character on the female friendly pink and black package, gets a seasonal change of clothes as well.

Another recent strategy is using local flavors, such as the Tomato Noodle series created from the Ichikai Commerce Association.

Ichikai, a town in Tochigi Prefecture, is an area known for growing plump, juicy tomatoes. The series includes ramen, udon, and yaki soba (all of which have a slightly reddish color and tangy tomato taste) and is intended as a souvenir for visitors to the region.

Considering the diverse packaged noodle options, we wonder how long one can go eating them everyday without repeating a flavor. There must be someone on the internet doing this, we just haven’t found him or her yet.

Tags: FMCG, Localization, Publishing, ramen
Category: LIFESTYLE / FASHION, MARKETING IDEAS
Other categories: DIGITAL LIFE, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Regional flavored coffee drinks from Walker magazine

Written by: Rebecca Milner on April 4, 2008 at 3:21 pm | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION, MARKETING IDEAS | 2 Comments

If Tokyo were a chilled convenience store coffee drink, what would it taste like? City magazine series Walker created a panel of six readers (3 men, 3 women) to work together with Japan’s top barista and Toyo Beverages to develop a coffee drink that epitomizes the taste of Tokyo.

Based on a panel discussion about top Tokyo cafes and feedback after sampling various coffee drinks, Tokyo Café Latte was born, a coffee drink derived from a rich, bitter coffee, milk reminiscent of cream liquor, and a subtle dash of honey. The package, of equal importance as noted by the panel, is an oshare (stylish) two-tone brown and cream (like the interior of a classy hotel) with English words scribbled on the front.

Walker plans to produce coffee drinks for all the cities where it has magazines
with the Kansai style Café Au Lait set for release on April 8. In a hade (loud) leopard print cup with the words café au lait written in Japanese hiragana, the Kansai taste coffee drink is a creamy, milky, rich coffee drink, not sweet at all.

Yokohama, Tokai, Hokkaido, and Kyushu taste coffee drinks will be released consecutively each month from May, available at Lawsons for an undisclosed limited time.

This move by Walker touches upon two recent trends, beverage collaborations and regional products and would seem to be somewhat inspired by the successful Starbucks packaged coffee drink “Discoveries” series with flavors inspired by Paris, Seattle, etc sold exclusively in East Asia. Compared to other coffee drinks, which run up to 300ml, both the Walker and Starbucks products are a slim 200ml, though Walker is ¥180 compared to Starbucks ¥210.

Unfortunately it seems like sales of the Walker series will be limited to the coffee’s particular region, so those who want a taste of Hokkaido will still actually have to go there.

Tags: beverages, Localization, magazines, Walker
Category: LIFESTYLE / FASHION, MARKETING IDEAS
Other categories: DIGITAL LIFE, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Regional and fish-control burgers

Written by: Rebecca Milner on March 20, 2008 at 12:54 pm | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION | 2 Comments

Part environmental, part fashion, the idea of eating local specialties has a strong following in Japan. The push to create something new sometimes leads to some unusual combinations as an article earlier this year from J-Cast Product Watch explained, highlighting some non-traditional hamburgers, like this crab burger from Hokkaido and this egg and onion burger from the Hyogo region.

Now there is a new twist: take the invading creatures that are causing trouble for the native species and their local habitat, such as the North American Blue Gill and Black Bass that are responsible for the diminishing population of local fish in Lake Biwa, and make them into burgers or other popular food items.

Manufacturers are putting an ecological spin on these food items, tapping into the current eco-boom and bringing the controversial subject of species population control to the table. Fortunately for the consumers who have to swallow this message, the offending fish are pretty yummy!

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