Storecheck Japan – the latest product and packaging trends in East Asia
Our last store check report on the Land of the Rising Sun was published in September 2023. We recently returned to Japan to take a look around the supermarkets there and find out what has changed since our last visit about a year and a half ago. In fact, we noticed numerous new trends, many of which represent international market developments, but some of which continue to reflect Japanese cultural and aesthetic characteristics. Join us on a tour of the various departments in Japanese stores: we start with cosmetics, then move on to sweets and other food products, and finally show highlights in the beverage and supplement sectors. We also provide a brief summary of the features that stand out or are typical in general.
Cosmetics: minimalist design concepts and a few unusual solutions
A glance at the shelves in the cosmetics department reveals one thing above all: minimalism. Many of the packages are transparent and only display the most important information on the front. Often, only the brand and product names are shown. However, this simplicity does not appear uninspired, but is deliberately chosen. In addition, the simply designed packaging radiates sophistication and elegance. It gives the impression that the manufacturer is deliberately focusing on the essentials and would rather impress with a high-quality product than with an exceptionally creative or ornate packaging design.
Nivea products are nothing special in and of themselves, of course; we can find a wide variety of them here in this country as well. Unlike in our country, however, they are not only offered in bottles and pots in Japan, but also in tubes. We have never seen Nivea cosmetics in this form anywhere else.
We associate Tetrapaks with beverages – from milk and milk substitutes to fruit juices. However, it is extremely unusual to find soap in this type of packaging, although it is already a reality in Japan. Otherwise, the Tetrapak soaps for refilling are again designed in a decidedly minimalist way.
And here’s another special find from the cosmetics section of a Japanese organic supermarket: hair dyes such as henna powder are sometimes filled into paper cups. Considering that plastic packaging is relatively common in Japan – we’ll come back to this in more detail during our store check – this paper packaging for a cosmetic product is all the more remarkable.
Sweets: typical Japanese motifs and trendy international collaborations
In the sweets section, two trends particularly caught our eye: firstly, many products feature typical Japanese motifs, and secondly, there are obviously an increasing number of products in East Asia that have been created through collaborations.
Let’s start with the typical Japanese designs. In this context, the animal motifs are particularly noteworthy. Some products are even shaped like animals. Perhaps the cutest example is the cakes or puddings in the shape of a cat’s head. Often, adorable little animals and other childlike or gaming motifs also adorn the packaging of delicious sweets – true to the motto “sweet pictures on sweet contents”.
We also noticed the many varieties of chips and nachos, which are unique to Japan. Although we sometimes come across several types of crisps in German supermarkets, too, what makes them special in Japan is that they usually stand out due to ingredients that are typical for the country. Examples include snacks with chia and quinoa, with buckwheat and amaranth, with nori (seaweed), with beetroot, with Japanese soup stock and with edamame.
Matcha and jelly products are also sold in abundance in Japanese stores. The latter is a trend that is spreading throughout Asia. Matcha is an essential ingredient in the Japanese tea ceremony. However, the unique green tea is increasingly being used to enhance sweets and other snacks.
Despite the considerable number of products with a Japanese or at least Asian character, the Japanese repeatedly demonstrate their openness to international trends. For example, we came across a number of collaboration items in supermarkets, i.e. products that several brands – usually two – have developed together. For example, a Japanese ume/sake manufacturer and the Nestlé brand KitKat have worked together to create a very special sweet.
The KitKat brand has also launched a special edition of its popular wafers for the Japanese market: the latter are refined with matcha powder and appeal to Japanese consumers in particular due to the typical Japanese ingredient.
Freeze-dried fruit and vegetables seem to be as popular in Japan as they are in Germany and Switzerland – another international trend that has caught on in East Asia. Some of the packaging for dried fruit and vegetables is particularly creatively designed, for example with an abstract but true-to-color illustration of the fruit it contains. This design concept is an interesting mix of minimalist and striking.
Ice cream: lots of cuteness, minimalism and plastic
As with sweets not stored in the freezer section, cute animal motifs also play a central role on ice cream packaging. The cow on the milk ice cream not only looks cute, but also indicates the animal from which the milk used in the production comes. In principle, many ice cream packagings tend to be characterized by minimalist designs.
By contrast, the use of plastic is anything but minimalist. While we are increasingly seeing ice cream in cardboard packaging in the DACH region, the Japanese are sticking to plastic packaging for ice cream – for the time being at least. And they don’t usually use it sparingly, as the two-part concept shown here illustrates.
Other food products: all sorts of daring packaging solutions
Not only ice cream, but also numerous other food products in Japanese supermarkets are lavishly wrapped in plastic – often twice or three times over. We have selected the bottle of mayonnaise as an example, which is superfluously covered with an additional plastic bag. Such concepts can only make environmentalists and sustainability-conscious consumers shake their heads.
But the Japanese also have all sorts of daring packaging solutions to offer that tend to evoke positive associations or at least an emotionally neutral sense of wonder. These include, for example, butter in a tube – easy to dispense and generally practical to use – and the single egg packed in a slotted box, intended as a snack between meals.
In general, snacks and to-go products are a big trend in Japan. This is due to the demanding work life and intense workday of many Japanese people. There are also some stores that specialize in this, such as 7Eleven.
Some snacks seem extremely experimental and unique. Where else in the world would you find bread filled with fried noodles? We’d say it’s a different take on hot dogs.
The Japanese seem to be particularly keen on (freeze-)dried foods. These are often meats, such as squid.
While we’re on the subject of meat: We noticed that corresponding products often come either in vacuum or skin packaging.
The cute motifs already highlighted in the case of sweets and ice cream can also be found on the packaging of various other products in the food segment. In addition to animals, manga and comic figures are also popular.
We cannot leave unmentioned a product that is very popular in Japan: Baumkuchen. This specialty is available in a variety of flavors, such as sweet potato or pumpkin, with the color varying depending on the variety, which ensures good differentiation. The packaging itself, on the other hand, has a uniform and simple design.
Beverages: from thoroughly traditional to emphatically modern products and designs
We encountered all sorts of things in the beverage section. We saw traditional products in equally traditionally designed packaging, but also decidedly modern products and packaging solutions. And both extremes are absolutely trendy in Japan.
One example of tradition is sake drinks in cardboard packaging with typically Japanese calligraphy elements, cherry blossoms and reddish colors.
As for the modern part, we would like to highlight several products and packaging:
Energy shots, which are designed to help cover the need for macro- and micronutrients.
Alcoholic beverages in glass jars with a metal pull tab, as seen on conventional metal cans, and a plastic lid.
Unusual Fanta flavors, such as “mello yello” or the particularly striking black Fanta with a black-and-white striped label – disruptive and eye-catching.
There are also drinks that combine traditional or typically Japanese features with modern aspects. In this context, the tea drinks should be noted, some of which contain tapioca pearls and are usually offered in To-To cups with drinking straws or in Tetrapaks. Similarly packaged, the trendy milk drinks are also presented, with the packaging often designed with cute figurines.
Sometimes, however, the tea drinks are also filled into simple, minimalist plastic, glass or metal bottles.
Mineral water and other beverages often feature designs with Japanese elements, such as patterns or landscapes.
There is a wide variety of brands: in addition to numerous Japanese manufacturers, some brands that are well known and available in Germany can also be found on the shelves, for example, alpro and the already mentioned Fanta.
Supplements: amazingly colorful, playful designs
Considering the many minimalist designs in almost all product groups, we were quite surprised that, of all things, the food supplements are often colorful and even playfully designed – for example, in shades of pink, gold and silver. Here in Germany, such packaging designs for supplements, which always have a certain medical touch, would probably look rather inappropriate.
A brief summary of the most important packaging design trends in Japanese stores
To conclude our article, we will summarize the most important packaging design trends in Japanese supermarkets.
Material: plastic, plastic and more plastic
Almost everywhere in the world, the focus is on reducing plastic waste or avoiding it as much as possible. It is all the more surprising that many Japanese products are wrapped in plastic packaging – and not infrequently in multiple layers, for example as a bottle-in-bag or with – usually completely superfluous – outer packaging. In fact, almost nothing is offered unpackaged in Japanese stores. This even applies to fruit and vegetables.
Design: predominantly typically Japanese
The majority of products are presented in a typically Japanese design, which means:
– Minimalism: images and information are limited to the essentials, straightforward, linear concepts
– Traditional motifs: Japanese patterns and landscapes
– Calligraphy: aesthetic typography
– Colorfulness: colors are not used sparingly, but rather to make it easy to distinguish different types of a particular product
– Cuteness – kawaii culture (very present!): cute animals, mascots, mangas and comics, childlike designs especially for sweets, snacks and drinks
Performance: high functionality and user-friendliness
The Japanese are a nation that places a great deal of value on precision and functionality. This is also reflected in their product packaging: as a rule, it is characterized by a high level of user-friendliness – for example, in terms of portioning and removing products from the packaging. Clear and comprehensible icons and instructions further facilitate use. Much of the packaging is transparent, allowing consumers to see the contents, a feature appreciated by most consumers, including those here in Germany. Furthermore, Japanese supermarkets offer numerous to-go products to meet the needs of most Japanese people with their intense work schedules.