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Why are limited foods more “fragrant”? Everything is unlimited. How does the Japanese play “limited”?

Everything can be limited. How big is the “brain hole” of the Japanese?

On playing “limited”, everyone here may be elementary school students. Japan has long played this concept. In addition to the most common quantity restrictions, it goes without saying that there are also convenience store restrictions and test season restrictions. Let’s take a look at how big the “brain hole” of the Japanese is.

1. Limited period of “one period and one meeting”

The most common period limitation is the season limitation. In other words, the season limitation is actually “seasonal”. No matter which ethnic group, from ancient to modern times, they have a strong sense of the changes in seasonal ingredients, and the diet culture that is constantly changing from season to season is especially reflected in the genes of Orientals.

Sakura blooms in March. At this time, various limited-edition cherry blossom foods appear in Japan, and the streets are pink. There is a folk proverb “Sakura 7th” in Japan. The flowering period is short, and people always try to keep its beauty.

Since 2017, Coca-Cola Japan has launched a limited edition cherry blossom bottle every year during the cherry blossom season. The bottle body is made of lightweight aluminum. Once launched, this Coca-Cola became popular in Japan. On the domestic e-commerce platform, it even sold a 4-5 times premium compared to ordinary Coca-Cola, and some people sold empty Coca-Cola bottles.

2017 ~ 2020 Coca-Cola Sakura Bottle

In addition to making articles on the packaging, in this era where even beer has a cherry flavor, brands have to match cherry elements from the inside out.

Calbee, the largest casual snack food brand in Japan, made the shape of shrimp-flavored potato chips into a cherry blossom shape.

Recently, the online celebrity companion brand TOKYO BANANA has printed pink cherry blossoms on the sponge cake, and the cherry sauce flavor is added to the cream sauce filling, which makes people cute.

Picture source: Tokyo banana official website

Speaking of the smell of cherry blossoms, people can think of the beautiful mood of cherry blossoms. But what exactly is the smell of cherry blossoms? How is it different from cherry flavor? This problem is even a bit confusing to the Japanese. In fact, most of the cherry flavor comes from the “coumarin” produced after being salted with cherry leaves and cherry blossoms. This fragrance is not strong and has a calm temperament.

Summer is the world of all kinds of fruits. Among the most common elements are coconut, pineapple, mango and other flavors that are full of strong Southeast Asian style.

Picture Source: Pocky

TSUJIRI’s limited summer shaved ice

When it comes to autumn, naturally I think of chestnuts, pumpkins, sweet potatoes and other seasonal ingredients that sound rich and warm. For example, “Chestnuts”, Morinaga’s chocolate bar brand Twig introduced chestnut-limited flavors in 2016; Nissin’s chestnut purple potato pumpkin cereal cereals, mixed with the sweetness of autumn, are very satisfying.

Picture source: Nissin’s official website

In winter, it’s the season of strawberry flavor, and the color of strawberry and Christmas atmosphere complement each other. In 2020, Coca-Cola Japan launched the first strawberry-flavored Coca-Cola ever, aimed at attracting young women who are not used to the original Cola.

Picture source: Coca-Cola Japan official website

As early as 2018, Coca-Cola Japan tried to introduce peach flavor in order to promote this new product, Also posted a greeting card full of Japanese style on Twitter, and the text felt that “the new Coca-Cola is peachy, please repost, please like the rice cake flavor, please like it”. According to Coca-Cola Japan, January to early March each year is the peak season for Japanese peach flavor carbonated drinks. Peach is regarded as a fruit with exorcism in Japan. It is a fruit that prays for the healthy growth of girls. In March 3rd, Japan’s Doll’s Day is also called “Peach Festival”. So peach-flavored Cola also carries a strong sense of blessing.

Picture source: Coca-Cola Japan official website

There are so many seasons in Japan. Each season can be arranged properly for consumers, without having to worry about what to eat. Calbee even launched a series of four season potato chips, using only new potatoes harvested during the season.

However, when it comes to period limitation, you can only think of season and festival limitation, it means that your brain hole is not big enough. There are even exams in Japan!

Japanese snack companies don’t lose any test candidates’ interest in the annual test season. In 2019, Japan ’s KitKat launched 4 “passing wishes” packages at once, including “exam greeting bags” printed with test greetings, “red and white bags” mixed with black and white chocolate, and “examinees with cherry trees as small decorations “Refuel package” and “winning package” for candidates who pray to Izumo Taisha Shrine.

LOTTE will also play the role of Koala as an auspicious tumbler, and launch “Goal Pass! Koala’s March””, The snack pattern has also become 14″ examination methods “.

Picture source: Lotte’s official website

2. Limited to regions you must buy here

When it comes to food, the Chinese always use the word “authentic”. The snail powder is eaten from Liuzhou and the crab is Yangcheng Lake. The Japanese are no exception, with matcha for Uji, grapes for Kyoho, and Hamiguad from Hokkaido.

Pocky’s regional limited edition uses local famous products or fruits and is only sold locally. It is a “collective nightmare”.

In 2016, Kirin Beer launched a beer toast to the local area. It was produced in 9 regional factories and appeared on the beer bottle with the name of the place of manufacture, and the other 38 were represented by the toast to the local name in the prefecture. The 47 prefectures and counties have 47 flavors and independent packaging, and the residents of the county will also provide advice on beer making. It is reported that one year after the launch of this event, beer sales more than tripled.

In support of the Great East Japan Earthquake-Stricken Area, Oyatsu TIMES and East Japan Railway Co., Ltd. jointly launched the “Japanese Snacks” series, which is based on the idea of ​​”allowing the tasters to feel as if they are traveling to a travel destination” Products of. Each product uses local ingredients, with a detailed product description on the front of the package, and local cuisine and views worthy of appreciation on the back.

3. Want to eat? Must choose my convenience store only

The competition in Japanese convenience stores is very fierce. The 7-11, LAWSON, and Family Mart, the three giants, have made great efforts on their own brands and co-branded cooperation to launch limited-edition snacks.

In 2019, LAWSON and GODIVA joined forces to launch 5 luxury chocolate desserts at once on Christmas Eve. In addition, Rosen also has a limited event for people below elementary school age. Collect 5 stamps and get 1 free Lawson Select candy.

Pictures comeSource: Rosen’s official website

7-11 cooperated with Calbee to launch a Halloween version of Monster Pizza flavor fries that can only be bought at 7-11.

Family Mart will also release the Little Devil Chocolate Cake every year, with a bit of chocolate in its sweetness.

In fact, there are still limited “mission missions”!

Why are limited foods more delicious?

There are people everywhere in Japan. In order to limit the queue, why is limited food more “fragrant”? What kind of psychology has caught consumers?

First of all, limited foods usually use rare flavors, such as plum flavor, cherry blossom flavor, etc. These flavors are like moon cakes and green balls, and they can only resonate with emotion when tasted in the season.

In addition, limited food also takes advantage of the Japanese “one period, one meeting” mentality. This word was developed from the Japanese tea ceremony and has the meaning of “a rare aspect that should be cherished”. Limited food emphasizes that food can only be bought at that time or locally, and it is difficult to have it if you miss it. “The unreachable is always in turmoil”, the limited food emphasizes the scarcity value, making use of people’s superiority and cherishment for things that are not easily available.