Inject the soul into chocolate with innovation.
Editor’s note: This article is from the WeChat public account “FBIF Food and Beverage Innovation” (ID: FoodInnovation), author : FBIF.
What is the concept of selling 2 million chocolates in 8 weeks?
You can replenish your brain: nearly 40,000 people buy the same product every day for 56 days-it is the Tokyo Banana Chocolate released by KitKat in 2017 that created such impressive sales.
KitKat Tokyo Banana ChocolateImage source: Nestle Japan official website
Because of its cute design, this product has a high degree of discussion during the pre-sale stage. After the launch, it reached the milestone of selling more than 2 million units in just 8 weeks [1]. In November 2019, KitKat launched an upgraded version of banana caramel flavor to welcome the Tokyo Olympics.
KitKat Tokyo Banana Caramel ChocolatePicture Source: Japan Nestlé official website
This upgraded productIt was replaced with a golden packaging, and a trendy dot pattern was added to the banana, and caramel was added to the formula to provide diners with a richer taste. Sure enough, it was listed by major Internet celebrities as a “must for travel in Japan” once it was released. Buying souvenirs”.
Actually, pure chocolate and chocolate products have always been in the market in Japan, and unlike many countries where chocolate is mainly used as a “coax kid” candy, many Japanese brands are deliberately making chocolate a relaxing moment for adults .
Shoei Delicy recently launched a series of high-quality chocolates for adults. Rather than attracting attention with fancy packaging or conquering children with sweet taste, this group of products pay more attention to the aroma that diners feel when they taste it. By adjusting the formula, chocolate becomes an elegant enjoyment exclusively for adults.
Shoei Delicy’s chocolate specially designed for adults2020 Listed in September Image source: Shoei Delicy official website
For children who “want to treat everything as a toy”, they also have a coup. Charapaki’s “Dinosaur Digging” chocolate is designed to simulate the action of breaking the chocolate into an archaeological treasure hunt through a unique shape design. In addition to increasing interest, it also arouses people’s environmental awareness.
Charapaki digs out dinosaur chocolateLaunch April 2020< /span>Image source: Bandai Candy
The most amazing thing is that these products are not brandedEntertain yourself, In addition to applauding, they are also very popular. According to CCTV Finance, Japan’s chocolate market has expanded year by year, and in 2018 it exceeded 33.6 billion yuan. [2] Among the top 10 chocolate companies in the world according to the statistics of the Prospective Industry Research Institute, only Japan is on the list in Asia, and it has two seats.
Of the world’s top 10 chocolate companies, Japan has two seatsImage source: official website of Qianzhan Industry Research Institute
Today, let’s talk about how Japanese food brands use innovation to infuse chocolate with soul.
01The appearance should be brilliant: good-looking and fun
We may not be unfamiliar with the various shapes of chocolate, but the cleverness of Japanese brands lies in the fact that they introduce “weird-shaped” chocolates, not just to attract people’s attention, but more often, to combine products with Cultural elements and consumption scenes are ingeniously combined.
For example, this stump-shaped chocolate from Bourbon is said to be originally designed to create a “swallow” and “portable” chocolate, and these two characteristics make it a very suitable small for travel and picnics. Snacks, so I simply made a stump-desc” style=””>Torl Matsuo Soy Flour Rice Cake Sandwich Chocolate Image source: Matsuo official website
Torl Matsuo Soy Flour Rice Cake Sandwich Chocolate won the first place in Mognavi’s chocolate category in the first half of 2019, and this year has not lost its momentum. Also won the first place in the 2020 Mognavi Comprehensive Awards. [3]
This product uses soy flour chocolate with a flexible rice cake filling, creating a very authentic Japanese flavor, which has been recognized by consumers.
Consumers proactively re-spread on social mediaPicture Source: twitter@okame3_
However, in addition to the wonderful taste, this product also reveals the idea of Japanese chocolate brands launching new flavors: combining with other festive foods, regional specialty foods, or other local cultural elements.
For example, the yuzu wine chocolate launched by KitKat in September 2019 is a product launched in cooperation with the well-known Japanese football player and new generation brewer, Mr. Hidetoshi Nakata. The yuzu wine selected is from the old-brand liquor store “Hamagawa Store” in Kochi Prefecture, Japan “Beautiful husband”.
Japanese Yuzu Wine ChocolateImage source: Nestle Japan official website
Of course, modern marketing methods cannot lag behind.
For example, the 70% chocolate series recently launched by Meiji, through a small change of thinking, conveyed to consumers