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
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