Suntory has been giving away a series of eight mini-goods by product designer Amadana with its Boss Silky Black coffee. Targeting design-smart businessmen in their 30s, the all-black and metal products include a USB memory drive cover, a tape measure, a “multi case” the size of an iPhone, a pen holder, a money clip, a bookmark, a “cord reel” for keeping headphone cords neatly in a suit pocket and a memo stand.

Amadana is a brand of luxury household appliances that have a modernist design aesthetic that has grown from niche to mainstream in a short time. Its product lineup includes everything from coffee makers and music systems to paper shredders and mobile phone handsets.

A quick look online shows the collaboration has spawned more than 70,000 blog posts so far this month, with comments suggesting that consumers actively bought BOSS Silky Black in order to collect the Amadana products.

To find out how Five by Fifty helps its clients innovate in the beverage sector, contact us.

But with the growing demand for functional foods by Japanese consumers, the first products that turn the benefit into a brand name are appearing the beverage sector.

Asahi Soft Drinks has released a soft drink that contains the caffeine of two cups of coffee and energy from glucose. The purpose, obviously, is waking people up. No one is likely to miss this, as the name of the product translates as “Emergency Rations for Waking Up,” printed in bold on a bright yellow background.

Other recent example is fuyu no kenko taisaku sui (“winter health care water”) from Akaho Kasei, which claims to boost the immune system, and prevents or helps recover from cold. It contains vitamin C and magnesium, potassium, ginger and yuzu (a Japanese citrus fruit).

Yet another example is Suntory’s gokaku energy (“energy for passing exams”), which contains 6 types of vitamins, glucose sugar, and caffeine. The product claims to provide stamina to students cramming for exams in marathon study sessions, and was launched just in time for the university entrance exams in February.

Learn more:
Other Asahi Products
Asahi Official Site (Japanese)

Morinaga has released Dars chocolate in a package intenionally printed backwards.

Snack maker Morinaga has released a its Dars chocolate bar in a new package intentionally printed backwards, as part of a clever Valentine’s Day promotional campaign.

Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Japan by the giving of chocolate as in many other countries. However, it is the custom for women to present chocolate to men. Women working in companies are expected to give small, inexpensive gifts of chocolate to male coworkers at the office, a custom called “giri choco” (obligatory chocolate). With February 14th falling on a Saturday this year, chocolate makers are fretting over the lower demand for “giri choco”.

To make matters worse, it seems that Japanese women are feed up with the whole tradition. Earlier this month, chocolate maker Morinaga published the results of a survey revealing that 90.8% of Japanese women would like receive chocolate from men on Valentine’s Day. 69.7% said that they have bought chocolates for themselves for Valentine’s Day, and 89.6% admitted that they have eaten chocolate that was given to their boyfriends or male family members.

Popular actors Junji Takada and Yusuke Yamamoto are part of the campaign.

Japanese men seem ready to relent, with 85.9% saying the way Valentine’s Day is celebrated outside Japan is a good custom. 91.3% of men said they would give chocolate to women, but only if asked. To give Japanese men a little encouragement by promoting the idea of “reverse chocolate” (chocolate given by men to women), Morinaga has released a limited edition of its popular Dars chocolate bar with the packaging intentionally printed in reverse. Popular actors Junji Takada and Yusuke Yamamoto appear in television commercials promoting “reverse chocolate.”

A new environmentally-friendly boat in Japan

A new environmentally-friendly sightseeing boat is operating in Lake Biwa, the largest fresh water lake in Japan, and a popular vacation site.

The 34-meter cruise ship, which has a capacity for 200 passengers, runs on bio-diesel fuel made from recycled oil from restaurants selling tempura, a deep-fried Japanese food. The boat is also equipped with solar and wind-powered generators to provide electricity to the ship, instruments to test water quality in the lake, as well as on-board systems for teaching passengers about environmental issues.

Learn more:
Other Morinaga Products
Morinaga Official Site (Japanese

Learn more:
Other Bandai products
Bandai official homepage
Beer Shampoo product page (Japanese)

This manga character was designed to market laundry detergent.

Household goods manufacturer Lion is using a fictional comic book character to advertise its Acron laundry detergent, which has two new scents, deodorant green and floral bouquet. The character developed especially for the product by Yukari Ichijou, one of the most famous artists manga for young woman. The gorgeous character’s name is “Yoshiko Sentaku,” whose last name means “laundry.”  Yoshiko’s 32 years old, single, lives in Tokyo, and dreams of one day having a fully automatic washing machine. The campaign is targeting women in their 20s and 30s.

Learn more:
Other Lion products
Lion official site
Yoshiko Sentaku product page (Japanese)

Korean food manufacturers have been marketing chewable yogurt tablets, hot pepper paste capsules, as well as yogurt, cheese and chocolate in toothpaste-type tubes. And consumers have responded well to the wider range of product options offered by these novel packaging designs.

Yogurt in tubes, which can be squeezed or sucked directly into the mouth, is the perfect choice for young Koreans with an on-the-go lifestyle, and is fun for kids. Recently, cheese, chocolate and other snack items in squeezable tube have been appearing on the market. Yogurt can also be found on the seats of Korean cars, next to gum and throat drops, not in liquid form, but in round, chewy tablets.

Condiments such as gochujang (hot pepper paste) and doenjang(fermented soybean paste) have been appearing in breakable, single-serving sized capsules for traveling or to put in a lunchbox.

The new packaging types are functional, hygienic and convenient, while also creating a sense of fun for consumers.

Jeongmae Choi

Bandai has teamed up with Lotte to release a range of bath tablets in 6 of their popular gum flavours including blueberry, green mint and coffee.