Japan's Beverage Market

I once heard that products are developed differently in Japan than they are in the United States. In the United States, the development of a product will go through extensive research and planning before hitting the market. A beverage company will tweak its product, using surveys, interviews, tastings, etc. U.S. companies want a sure thing before they introduce their products to the market. It reminds me of the U.S. political process.

In Japan, by contrast, it is said that companies are more willing to throw various ideas out into the market with little research and see what sticks. As a result you may get a lot of flops and weird ideas. But that makes the market much more interesting. Aloe yogurt comes to mind. Here is a poplar commercial with Chiaki Kuriyama on YouTube.

People sometimes point to the proliferation of convenience stores as part of the homogenization of culture in a globalized economy. I disagree. Each time I visit a new country, I try to take a stroll through their convenience stores to see what's different.

The Japanese are proud of their convenience stores (konbini). Like many things in Japan, it has been made into an art. Check out this site devoted to konbini diversity. 7-Eleven was acquired by a Japanese company in the early 1990s. You can get oden in the winter and nikuman mostly year round (this site shows nikuman from various konbini).

I took this photo while in Japan recently of the distinct drink isle in the back of a Japanese convenience store. It will be familiar to anyone who has visited Japan. If I could make one suggestion to American drink makers: Check out Japan's cold tea selections (without sugar).