On the one hand, it can enhance the affinity of the brand in the local area, win the love and favor of fans, on the other hand, it can provide new opportunities for product innovation and out of the circle, consumers need a sense of scarcity and value, the brand needs to be liked and trusted, this two-way happiness may be the ultimate meaning of "limited", in today's new trend of chasing "limited", Starbucks's regional limitation gives us a good demonstration case and reference idea. ”
Text: HN WANG
Source: Foodaily Daily Food (ID: foodaily)
If you want to play with "limitation", you must mention Japan. For Japanese brands, everything can be limited: festivals, seasons, regions, celebrity cooperation... Whether it is in various categories such as catering menus, beverages or snacks, brands can always find a variety of tricks to play in the name of limitation.
It is reasonable to say that Japanese consumers who have been practicing for a long time should have aesthetic fatigue for general limited products. But Foodaily found that Starbucks recently carried out a "limited" event in Japan, and suddenly exploded in Japan SNS with extremely high volume and topicality.
Let's see what's going on?
Celebrating its 25th anniversary,
Starbucks Japan launches 47 regionally limited starbucks
Here's the thing.
In order to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its opening in Japan, Starbucks, which was listed in the Japanese market in 1996, proposed a new way to enjoy coffee with the theme of "The Power of Coffee is the Power of Connection", and Starbucks announced at SNS that it has launched the "47 JIMOTO StarBucks" series of products representing the flavor of 47 prefectures in Japan.
Image source: Starbucks, Japan
JIMOTO means "local, local", and according to Starbucks, the series was released to thank fans on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, so together with local store staff, we have developed 47 Star Ice Cream that represent local flavors and are only sold locally, inspired by local nature and food culture.
Each cup averages for about RMB 40 and will be sold for a limited time from June 30 to August 3, 2021, each of which represents a sincere local love, so it is no wonder that the battle-hardened Japanese consumers cannot resist the heartbeat!
Embracing the question "What does my hometown taste like?" Curiosity and anticipation, consumers have been out of the clock, evaluation and interactive feedback, so quickly fermented in SNS and caused a warm response. J-CAST News, a well-known News site in Japan, has launched the most anticipated Star Ice Ballot on Twitter since June 23, and more than 10,000 screen names have participated.
Image source: livedoor news, absorbing numerous reviews and punch cards
From taste to color to shape,
Product development that blends into the local soul
First of all, it is worth mentioning that Starbucks spent time in the development of 47 models of products, in order to better express the characteristics of each place, Starbucks deliberately based on the proposal of local store staff in each region for commercialization, each product is inspired by the unique charm of the region, from the use of raw materials to the concept to the taste to the color and shape, all of which convey the uniqueness of this region.
It is reported that Starbucks collected a total of about 1300 proposals this time, and it took a variety of dimensions such as development, uniqueness, and taste to finalize the final 47 models, each of which is full of extraordinary ideas and stories. Specifically, Starbucks' regional limited series is generally inspired by the development and interpretation of regional products from three perspectives: the characteristic ingredients abundant in the region, the famous souvenirs/commodities, and the local landscape characteristics or cultural characteristics.
Inspired by regional specialty ingredients, such as the "Hokkaido" style combining corn and cream made from Hokkaido milk, "Ibaraki" Hoshi Ice Cream uses the local specialty cantaloupe, "Toyama" is famous for its giant watermelon, so it launches a watermelon flavor with a strong summer atmosphere, and "Aomori" combines the specialty apple into Star Ice. There are also kiwifruit, black sesame seeds, rice and other ingredients are also involved...
Based on the famous souvenirs or products of the local area, the honey cake famous in Nagasaki, the famous edamame pureed potato in Miyagi, the popular local specialty Kimchu cake in Okinawa, the persimmon rice fruit in Niigata, the classic breakfast red bean toast in "Aichi", the birthplace of the Tea Culture, and the stick roasted tea specialty of "Ishikawa"... All are blended into the local specialty of Star Ice with a surprising and fresh experience.
Even more brilliant is the fact that Chiba, famous for its abundant soy sauce, boldly proposed the use of soy sauce and added coffee sauce to form a coffee cream star ice cube with a harmonious aroma and sweetness.
Another idea is to use the unique local scenery and culture as an opportunity for development, such as "Shiga" with the representative tourist attraction Lake Biwa as the theme, adding butterfly bean flower syrup to the white chocolate base, and using citrus pulp to recreate the dreamy sunset style of the lake.
Based on this tradition, Starbucks has developed Jumping Candy Chocolate Star Ice, based on one of Japan's most thunderous prefectures, based on a chocolate flavor that combines black mocha, syrup and ice cubes, with mango sauce attached to the cream, expressing the concept of "thunderous light in the dark sky". The jumping candy embellished at the top is the finishing touch to the whole cup, and the crackling sound in the mouth symbolizes thunder.
After reading these cases, Xiaobian can't help but sigh a "absolute child", each cup is full of surprises and stories, people can't help but want to try it again, how can such a careful Starbucks not resonate?
Shot out of the circle,
What other careful machines are hidden in this regional marketing?
Of course, an event out of the circle must not rely only on products, but also need to work together from multiple angles. Geographical limitation is not a rare thing in Japan, but Starbucks has fought a very beautiful battle in the summer, the golden hour of cold drink sales, from the perspective of regional limitation. After a detailed study of Starbucks' out-of-the-loop incident, we found that in addition to the core products, there are actually some careful machines that hook consumers.
The gimmick is full, thousands of stores are issued at the same time, and if you want to do it, you will make it bigger
Starbucks is the coffee brand with the largest number of stores in Japan. Its own popularity, coupled with the special commemorative significance of the 25th anniversary, provides a favorable basis for this 47 JIMOTO Star Ice Hockey campaign.
47 models sold only locally, only for the local special development of The Starbucks On June 30, the Starbucks store was listed in Starbucks stores nationwide, which is the first time in starbucks Japan's history to carry out such a large-scale attempt, it is difficult for consumers not to be curious about the taste of their hometown, and the gimmick is directly full.
Hearts are full, every place, every exclusive star ice
Starting from Ginza, Tokyo, Starbucks has expanded to 47 prefectures in Japan, and its achievements along the way are inseparable from the support of local consumers. Therefore, the planning of this event is also with gratitude to each region, in order to further show starbucks more local and more integrated into the local face, deepen the closer feelings and connections with local consumers.
Therefore, instead of selling all 47 types of Frappuccino in one store, we only sell The Frappuccino developed by local Starbucks staff that represents the characteristics of the region, and convey to consumers the exclusive intention of being empathetic only locally.
Entering the official website, a variety of 47 star ice music models were introduced, and the page of each product explained the formula, creative concept and deep intention behind the product. 47 star ice music, 47 design concept, people can't help but wonder what kind of collocation their hometown will be interpreted.
The interaction is full, the topic degree is detonated, and the consumer runs in both directions
As early as mid-to-late June, Starbucks carried out high-profile publicity on its official website and social media platforms and major news platforms, and released a complete 47 product concepts of Frappuccino, which aroused everyone's curiosity and attention. J-CAST News, a well-known News website in Japan, issued the "Regional Star Ice Music You Are Most Looking Forward to" voting activity before the launch of the product, with more than 10,000 people participating. For this time, The Star Ice Has Saved another Wave of Topics and Popularity.
Regardless of whether consumers think that the 47 JIMOTO In their hands can interpret their hometown, "I have a say in this region" is worth sharing on social networks. Whether the star ice in hand can represent their hometown, the horizontal comparison between the star ice music in different regions, and even the limited star ice music in DIY's own hometown can become an interesting topic of discussion, directly pulling the interaction between the brand and consumers, and detonating the topic degree.
Of course, not only is it the self-congratulation between consumers, the brand is also paying attention to consumer feedback and intentions at all times, forming a positive interaction, the picture shows a Japanese netizen on Twitter conceived of Kagawa Udon Star Ice, which was forwarded by the official Twitter of Starbucks in Japan.
brief summary
On the one hand, it can enhance the affinity of the brand in the local area, win the love and favor of fans, on the other hand, it can provide new opportunities for product innovation and out of the circle, consumers need a sense of scarcity and value, the brand needs to be liked and trusted, this two-way rush to the happiness may be the ultimate meaning of "limited", in today's new trend of chasing "limited", Starbucks's regional limitation gives us a good demonstration case and reference idea.