Senbei "YUKI" Finds Way to Thailand
Japan is home to all kinds of unique foodstuff - Sushi for one and Tofu for another. Donald Keene is right when he says the Japanese preconceive they are unique; the Japanese do have things that are unique only to them and non-Japanese should have a hard time accepting.
Take, for instance, a common coarse confectionary called Senbei made out of rice powder. It's a rice powder pancake baked crispy, soaked lightly in soy sauce, and dried. Seibei comes in hundreds of different shapes and tastes, each locality with its own version.
Now, a Tokyo confectionery has a plan to market one of their best-selling Senbeis to Thailand in an effort to open a fresh channel of overseas marketing. The item in question is "Yuki" or snow originally "Home of Snow".
President Hironori Sato of Sanko Seika Co. has this to say:
"Now that Japanese cuisine has found its way abroad, we are about to attempt for the first time to challenge overseas market with one of our bestselling senbeis Yuki to Thailand."
"We are aware that it is no easy work to penetrate a foreign market with different food culture and climate.
"The point is how our merchandise can be effectively localized to fit the local needs. This we have done in collaboration with a local major beer brewery".
They have found an able partner in a Thai corporation Singha Corporation known for its Singha Beer.
The home market of coarse confectionery is nearly saturated with rather dismal prospects ahead. They company sought partnership in Thailand; Singha Corporation responded.
Both agreed on launching Yuki to start. It's a senbei seasoned delightfully salty-sweet rare to find in Thailand. Yuki means snow - something the people of Thailand idolize.
A production line is built as part of Singha's factory. The joint project eyes on a gross sale in the first three years of over one billion yen. A pack of Yuki sells in three variations for five bahts, 10 bahts and 20 bhts. Singha has employed a top TV personality to promote the product nationwide.