Recently by Harold Moya

Kirin Beverage has scored big time with yet another sales record breaking marketing campaign combining three Japanese passions: The every day: Green tea, the cute: A panda bear, and the mechanical: Vending machines.

Green tea is to the Japanese what carbonated drinks are to the Americans, only with a long history dating back hundreds of years. It is also no secret that cute things sell like hot cakes in Japan, Hello Kitty probably being the most recognised cute character coming out of these parts. And there are just as many vending machines in Japan as there are people if not more. Just about anything can be sold in machines here: From snacks and drinks to eggs, rice and even socks, underwear and adult literature. Yes, you heard right.

To promote yet another green tea brand (most beverage makers here have a full line up of them), Kirin beverage designed a Panda bear that comes in a recyclable plastic bottle. Yes, the stuffed cutie is stuffed in a see-through bottle, the same container in which the beverage is sold. The ultimate objective is for consumers to buy tea, of course, not the doll itself, so the doll has been made purposely unavailable to further fuel the Namacha Panda Sensei (Green Tea Panda Master) frenzy.

At the launching event in the young shopper's district of Shibuya in March, hundreds of people lined up to get a free sample. There was more interest in the bottle stuffed Panda (or Panda stuffed in bottle) than the tea itself. The "doll in a bottle" is available at selected vending machines from one end of the archipelago to the other, but, wait a minute, the company will not disclose the locations! This has sent hordes of collectors scrambling to find the little thing.

Why the name Namacha Panda Sensei (master)? Well, along with the equally cute flesh and bone TV personality that also endorses the tea, the Panda educates the public about the benefits of drinking green tea on a daily basis. At a time when more and more young Japanese are getting hooked on sugary carbonated drinks (mostly promoted via cool advertising campaigns), beverage manufacturers are making efforts to emphasize the pluses of the millenary drink: No calories, loads of vitamin C, no sugar, cheaper to produce and simply healthier and good for the body.

Will you become as cute as a green panda if you drink tea daily? Why not just chew on tea leaves? Why would someone put a doll in a bottle? If the doll is in a bottle, how can you play with it? Do you just stare at it? I asked my 11-year-old daughter the same questions and she just replied: "Who cares? The doll is sooooo cute!!"

There you have it. See for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBCoUdJoJu8

Image courtesy of: ajGAZMEN GucciBeaR

What would Asia be without them? A quick bowl of "ramen," as they are called here in Japan, can bring you back to life on chilly winter nights or make you sweat like a hog in the summer. The busy Japanese businessman or university student can pick up the instant type for a few yen at the corner convenience store, make them and wolf them down in a matter of minutes.

Such is the love for ramen in Japan, that, ramen lovers, young and old, sometimes line up outside restaurants and even whip out their own fantasy noodle recipes! Well, lo and behold, the digital world has caught up to the world of cooking. The smart folks at Yahoo! Japan noticed "fantasy ramen" soup and garnish recipes floating around in blogs, as well as actual blogs and entire websites dedicated to noodle appreciation, tasting, making and just about anything about them. There is even a ramen museum here in Tokyo.

Those smart marketing guys then asked bloggers to come up with a winning noodle soup concoction and believe me, they received thousands. What to do next? Well, why not talk to Acecook, an instant noodle soup manufacturer, and get their product managers to develop a Yahoo! branded consumer originated line of products? They not only came up with one recipe, but many consumer originated variations including non-traditional ingredients like bacon and eggs.

The idea has been so successful that social networks like Mixi, the Japanese version of Facebook with more than 15 million members, have partnered with yoghurt manufacturer Calpis to get their members to contribute recipes. The project started late last year and 4 Mixi Juice mix products have been released to date. The online community was involved in everything from the recipe, catch phrases, right through to the bottle design. What a great way to get consumers involved in product development and marketing. The instant food and drinks market in Japan is a jungle, yet these innovative efforts do put brands ahead of the competition.

If you'll excuse me, I'm getting the munchies, so let me go for my Yahoo! Noodles and a bottle of Mixi Juice Mix for lunch.

Image courtesy of: moriza

If the bad economy is dragging you down, pick yourself up by snacking! Anything from chocolates, bubble gum, candy, potato chips to sugared French bread (why would someone eat bread with sugar on it?) are selling like hot cakes at Japanese supermarkets, department stores and convenience stores. They are being consumed, shared and even given away at company pantries, meetings and outings. Believe me, I have been living here in Japan for 12 years and swear the Japanese do not have anything resembling a sweet tooth.

The Nikkei Weekly reports in this week's edition that, despite the sour sales figures in the apparel and accessories departments, consumers end up heading for the basements, where food and confectionary departments are usually located, to buy their favorites sweets! Couldn't quite justify that LVMH bag of your dreams? How about you compensate with a bunch of chocolate dipped cherries instead? What a treat!

It is reported that sales of sweets at Japanese convenience stores has increased for 24 months in a row!! Isetan Mitsukoshi, a high-end department store, reports a 4% increase in sweets sales from October to January while Lotte's Ghana liquor filled chocolate sales shot up 20% from a year ago.

Snacking on sweets has always been a girlie thing in Japan. However, manufacturers and retailers report that more and more young and middle aged Japanese men now buy them to eat at home (or when nobody's watching)! It is also reported that embarrassed male office staffers sometimes ask female colleagues to pick up a box of chocolate sticks and "something to share" with staff if they step out to the convenience store. Sharing snacks is also said to improve communication among peers!

Why now? With a recent hike in the price of cigarettes and high the cost of "real food", indulging in sweets has become the solution for a quick pick me up. Plus, with the economy sagging, nobody says 'no' to a juicy caramel on a gloomy office floor. Snack away I say!

Image courtesy of: sushina