Reporter | Liu Yujing
Many people who have traveled to Japan have probably bought KitKat with Japanese sake and plum sake as souvenirs. And now, KitKat has really introduced the option of pairing chocolate with Japanese sake.
If you're visiting Tokyo in the near future, try the AI-recommended sake experience at KitKat's pop-up bar in Roppongi.
KitKat's artificial intelligence robot will recommend the most suitable KitKat flavor and the Japanese sake to accompany it after asking questions about personal taste preferences and other issues - this is KitKat's limited-time activity in "Japan Sake Week", after "several trips a year in Japan", "what do you like to buy for souvenirs", etc., and then select the most suitable consumer from more than 150 kinds of sake, as well as KitKat chocolates that can match its taste.
Nestlé's KitKat has launched a total of 350 flavors in Japan, of which more than 40 are regular flavors. The KitKat chocolates offered on the spot are all limited flavors from different parts of Japan, such as the flavors jointly launched with the Japanese sake "Manjusen", the plum wine brand "Crane Plum", the flavor of momiji steamed buns, the taste of Uji matcha, and so on.
Nestlé Japan said that wine and chocolate pairings have become more common in the past, and chocolate and Japanese sake are the first time, and the brand also hopes to take advantage of the opportunity of Japan Sake Week to promote more limited flavors in Japan. For example, Nagai Sake Brewery's sake basho is recommended to be eaten with Fukushima's strawberry-flavored KitKat – because the water plantain has a slightly astringent taste and is suitable for pairing with more sweetened strawberry-flavored chocolate.
KitKat is now a representative of souvenirs in Japan. Therefore, in the marketing of this brand, Japan's "souvenir culture" is a major focus - combining the customs and customs of different parts of Japan with products, and then packaging it into a limited commodity to promote tourists in the channels with higher gift consumption such as airports and Shinkansen stations. Frequent introductions of time-limited, limited-to-sale flavors are a way to continue to stimulate consumer curiosity and desire to buy.
We've summarized kitKat's logic for developing flavors: curiosities that people haven't eaten, flavors that reflect the characteristics of traditional Japanese food, flavors that respond to a place or event in Japan, and regional specialties that are usually sold in specific cities.
For example, the "spicy Tang Spicy Flavor" and "Grilled Sweet Potato Flavor" released in 2009 are representative of the hunting taste; after the earthquake in northeast Japan, the Kumamoto Prefecture earthquake and other events, KitKat will also quickly introduce limited flavors for local assistance - such as Kumamoto Tea and Kumamoto Dumpling KitKat, which jointly launched Kumamoto Tea and Kumamoto Dumpling Flavor with Kumamoto Mascot Kumamoto, in order to support the Kyushu earthquake. The company said that for every bag sold, KitKat will donate 10 yen to the affected areas.
In essence, the marketing combined with Japanese sake is also a way to promote KitKat's specialty chocolates by promoting the representative sake culture of Japan. There are also many pop-up shops with other foods and sake during Japan Sake Week, such as Vietnamese beef noodles with sake, Hainanese chicken rice with sake, etc., but as the only sweet tooth, KitKat chocolate and Japanese sake are paired with Japanese sake, making it the most special one.