Showing Traditional Japanese Designs to Foreign travelers through Confectionery. Traditional Japanese Yatsuhashi transformed into crunchy puff! Matcha Crunch Can" goes on sale on February 1!

2024.01.30 15:00

Bijuu Co.,Ltd.

　(Headquarters: Kyoto, Japan; President & CEO: Hiroaki Sakai), a manufacturer and seller of Kyoto's famous sweets such as "Nama Yatsuhashi Otabe with Tsubu-an" and "Kyobaum", will start selling a new product on February 1, 2024 (Thursday), called "Matcha Crunch Can", which combines crunchy puff made from "Nama Yatsuhashi" dough with richly flavored matcha chocolate. Matcha Crunch Can (1,080 yen: tax included) will go on sale.

Key points of the product

1. Opportunity: The opportunity for inbound sales recovery.

2. Design: Packaging that represent Japanese culture to foreign travelers

3. Ingredients: Crunchy puffs made from yatsuhatshi dough

Product Information

【Product Name】 Matcha Crunch Can

【Price】 1,080 yen (tax included)

【Date of release】 February 1, 2024 (Thursday)

【Best before period】 111 days from the date of manufacture

Sold at: Major sightseeing spots in Kyoto, train stations, airports, etc.

Matcha Crunch is a combination of Kyoto's famous confectionery "Nama Yatsuhashi" and matcha (green tea) chocolate.

The crunchy puffs are combined with matcha chocolate to create a chocolate crunch that is Kyoto-style confectionary.

You can enjoy the crunchy texture of the puffs and the flavorful taste of matcha green tea.

A hinged can is use as packaging.

　1.The opportunity for inbound sales recovery

　In Japan, tourism is showing signs of recovery after coronavirus restriction was eased in May 2023. In December of the same year, the international departure area at Kansai International Airport was renovated to 1.6 times its original area in anticipation of increased use, and the Kansai tourism market is preparing for increasing visitors to Japan for the Osaka/Kansai Expo.

　Even before the coronavirus infection epidemic, "MATCHA (green tea)" and "chocolate" have been popular souvenir confectionery materials among foreign tourists.

　2. Packaging that represent Japanese culture to foreign travelers

The package that incorporates traditional Japanese patterns representing traditional Japanese culture and OMIYAGE (souvenir) culture.

Can container

The package is designed with an elegant Japanese style, incorporating traditional patterns used in Japan for centuries, with a light and warm expression like a watercolor painting. The can is decorated with a cut-out design of seasonal mountains and accented with gold printing, creating a gorgeous design that you will want to keep it with you even after enjoying the confectionery.

Individual Wrapping

The individual wrappers are decorated with traditional patterns that are believed to bring good luck (five types in all) and the explanation of the meanings of these patterns.

3.Crunchy puffs made from yatsuhatshi dough　

　The Kyoto famous confectionary "Nama Yatsuhashi Otabe with Tsubu-An" is made with rice flour from Koshihikari rice, water from Uriwari, one of the best 100 waters in Japan, and sweet red bean paste.

　At the factory that manufactures Otabe in Kyoto City, the edges of the thinly spread dough are cut off to form a beautiful square during the forming process.

　The collected end pieces of Nama-yatsuhashi are transported to the Wakasa Factory* in Fukui Prefecture, where rice flour, the material for Nama-yatsuhashi, is milled and processed.

　Nama-yatsuhashi dough made from rice flour is baked together with Hokkaido wheat flour and sugar, and transformed into crispy, crunchy puffs. Then, it is combined with richly flavored matcha chocolate and made into matcha chocolate crunch.

*Bijuu Wakasa factory

The factory is located in Wakasa Town, Fukui Prefecture, near Uriwari Waterfall, one of the 100 best waterfalls in Japan. The factory mills rice flour, which is used to make "Nama Yatsuhashi Otabe with Tsubu-an," makes bean paste using red beans produced in Tokachi, Hokkaido, and produces baked sweets using matcha green tea.