Is crunch time more costly in Japan? The price of Japan’s favorite corn puff snack, Umaibo, is going up for the first time since its introduction in 1979. The company has announced an increase. Yaokin Corp, which has its headquarters in Tokyo, informed the Mainichi paper that the product would be sold at a price of about 2 yen ($0.02) per piece starting from April, up from the original price of 10 ($0.09) to 12 yen ($0.11).
Furthermore, the company explained that the decision had been made because of the higher costs involved. Takeshi Nemoto has overseen the purchasing of snacks at Tokyo’s snack shop Kawahara Shoten for decades. He made a similar prediction for other cheap snacks. ‘There’s nothing we can do (about the price hike). From a maker’s point of view, they cannot secure profit anymore unless they raise the price,’ he said.
What is Umaibo?
The Umaibo, which has defined Japan’s low growth for decades by keeping its price unchanged, is famous as the ‘delicious stick’. It is quite similar to cheese puffs, but it is shaped like a cylinder. The best-selling flavor is creamy corn soup. They come in 15 flavors, such as cheese and seasoned cod roe. According to reports, around 700 million crunchy sticks are sold annually, both in packs and individually.
Although prices are surging in the West, Japanese companies have so far avoided raising prices across the board for fear of losing cost-sensitive customers. Many customers were surprised by this news. A 51-year-old housewife said that she had not anticipated that cheap snacks, something that children can buy easily, would be affected.
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