This article is taken from: The Daily Bilingual Economist
Background:
In Japan, not only are fruits seasonal, but even sweets appear in seasons. In the summer, there are chocolate mint-flavored sweets, in autumn there are sweet potato-flavored snacks, and in the cherry blossom season, convenience stores will find a variety of cherry-flavored delicacies. So why are seasonal sweets so popular in Japan?
In Japan, novelty sweets mark the seasons
In Japan, new flavors of sweets mark the change of seasons
Japanese cooking and traditional sweets have long placed a premium on seasonality. Contemporary candy and snack producers now tap into the seasonal mindset to great effect, peddling cherry-flavoured goods during cherry blossom season and sweet potato-flavoured snacks in the autumn.
Japanese cuisine and traditional sweets have long emphasized seasonality. Contemporary confectionery and snack producers also take advantage of this seasonal mindset, selling cherry-flavored products during the cherry blossom season and sweet potato-flavored snacks in the fall.
Chocominto is only the latest limited-edition snack fad to enthrall Japanese consumers. “The Japanese market moves with the season,” says Jérôme Chouchan, the boss of Godiva Japan, which uses ingredients and packaging to send seasonal signals, as with chestnut macaroons and brown or red packaging in the autumn.
Chocolate mint is just the latest limited edition snack flavor that appeals to Japanese consumers. Jerome Jochan, owner of Godiva Japan, said: "The Japanese market changes with the seasons. "Godiva Japan uses ingredients and packaging to deliver seasonal signals, like an autumn chestnut macaroon with its brown-red outer packaging.
Yet the proliferation of seasonal, limited-edition items in Japan has as much to do with the structure of the modern market as with age-old traditions. Japan’s ubiquitous convenience stores, or conbini, prize novelty. The selection in stores usually changes once a week, explains Phillip Sugai of Doshisha University in Kyoto: “Having the same exact chocolate bar on the shelves isn’t appealing to the convenience stores; novelty is exciting.”
In Japan, however, the surge in sales of seasonal limited edition items is not only related to ancient traditional customs, but also to the structure of modern markets. Convenience stores everywhere in Japan love novelty products in ten minutes. Philip Sugii of Kyoto Doshisha University explains that items in convenience stores are usually changed once a week, "The immutable chocolate on the shelves will make convenience stores unattractive, while novelty items will make people excited." ”
Where big international confectionery firms tend to manufacture the same items consistently at scale to minimise costs, “the Japanese model is completely opposite,” says Takaoka Kozo, the former head of Nestlé Japan, a big food and drink company.
Takaoka Kosa, former president of large food and beverage company Nestlé Japan, said that large international confectionery companies tend to continue to mass-produce the same products in order to reduce costs as much as possible, "The Japanese model is the complete opposite." ”
Under his watch, KitKat, a chocolate-covered wafer, began churning out seasonal and limited-edition flavours; the company has produced hundreds of flavours exclusive to Japan, including salt lychee, red-bean paste and wasabi. (The same approach flopped in Britain, where retailers charged higher fees to carry new items.)
Under his leadership, the KitKat series of chocolate sandwich wafer biscuits began to introduce seasonal and limited edition flavors, and Nestlé Japan introduced hundreds of flavors unique to the Japanese market, including salt lychee flavors, red bean paste flavors and mustard flavors. (The same strategy doesn't work in the UK, where retailers charge higher fees for new products.) ）
Another factor may be the difficulty of competing on quality in the Japanese market. “Every product tastes good,” says Okayama Takuya of Dataspring, a market-research firm. Instead manufacturers have to find other ways to stand out. “It’s very difficult for us to differentiate from our competitors by improving just taste, we have to have some special edition to do so,” says Yokoi Satoshi, head of the Japanese branch of Papabubble, a high-end Spanish sweet-maker.
Another reason may be that it is difficult for the Japanese market to compete effectively in quality. Takuya Okayama of Market Research Firm Dataspring said: "Every product tastes good. "Therefore, manufacturers must find other ways to make their products stand out." Yoko Sato, head of the Japanese branch of Spanish high-end confectionery manufacturer Papa Confectionery, said: "It is difficult for us to distance ourselves from our competitors just by improving the taste, and we have to launch some special versions to achieve this goal. ”
The confectioner produces a sweet shaped like a chicken wing for stores in Nagoya, which is known for its fried chicken, and one for Osaka resembling a steamed pork bun, a local speciality. In May, it opened a chocominto pop-up shop in Tokyo’s trendy Aoyama district.
In Nagoya, famous for its fried chicken, Papa launched a candy that resembles chicken wings, while in Osaka, the company launched a candy that resembles a local specialty steamed pork bun. In May, the company opened a chocolate mint pop-up shop in Tokyo's trendy Aoyama district.
Pumping out new flavours every few months can present challenges, especially for foreign companies used to producing high volumes of fewer products. But buzzy items make up for the additional costs in sales, says Mr Takaoka.
Introducing new flavors every few months can also be challenging, especially for foreign companies that are accustomed to producing fewer varieties of products in large quantities. But Takaoka said the blockbusters make up for the additional cost of sales.
Few flavours have as devoted a fan base these days as chocominto, which has developed a cult following on social media. “People who like it really like it,” says Ushikubo Shintaro, an influencer who runs a suite of chocominto-themed social-media accounts and published a guidebook to chocominto offerings in Tokyo.
Today, few flavors have such a large fan base as chocolate mint, which has attracted a following on social media. Keitaro Ushiwa, who runs a series of chocolate-themed social media accounts and publishes a guide to Tokyo's chocolate shops, said: "People who love chocolate mint are really good at this bite. ”
The only downside is its fleeting nature. “It is a little bit sad when the chocominto period ends,” Mr Ushikubo admits. He soothes his sorrow with the strawberry-flavoured sweets that grow on shelves in the winter.
Its only drawback is that it is fleeting. Keitaro Usawa admits: "When the season of chocolate mint ends, I will be a little sad. "He would ease his grief with strawberry-flavored candy on the winter shelves.
Japan is a country with four distinct seasons, and the long-term intensive farming culture makes the Japanese people feel the change of the seasons very strongly, which also makes Japan form a tradition of advocating seasonal customs. On the other hand, convenience stores that are everywhere in the streets of Japan also need to attract customers with new products, so it has also promoted the popularity of seasonal limited-edition sweets (delicacies).
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