Konnichiwa! Recent news of Nabisco Oreo’s adding a some watermelon to their oreos caused a blip in interest for snackaholics. Milk’s favorite cookie rarely changes, with the exception of double stuffing them and occasional vanilla flavors. So curious to see how the fruit and cookie combo pans out with American audiences.
Shifting our snack focus to the East, The Japanese wafer snack Pokey comes to mind whenever I think of Asian sweets. That or wasabi peas that you can cruelly trick your friends into eating handfuls of without warning.
Until recently, Oreo cookies haven’t really taken off China. Some food and beverage companies just do not translate to different cultures and countries. So rather than ditch a 1 potential one billion customer market, Nabisco altered the product to suit the customer. Instead of chocolate and cream oriented like the US, many Asian targeted Oreo’s are fruit and wafer based.
Some companies don’t need much altering at all to enter a new market. Nestle didn’t really have to change their product one bit to fit the needs of the Japanese snackers. Based all on simple luck. The phrase “Kitto Katsu” is a rough translation of “surely winning.” Basically, Nestle has a product that means “Good luck” for a large audience of people. So during exams it’s common for classmates and parents to purchase a type of flavor for good luck and a study snack.
Now when I say select a flavor, I mean there are over 200 different flavors to choose from. Wafer’s are the more popular type of snack in Asian countries, as well as fruit. But that doesn’t limit the flavors to go from Hokado Cheese, baked potato, Green Tea, and literally dozens of other strange options.
Marketing food to other countries is always a peculiar venture. Some companies thrive while others fall flat due to cultural and language barriers. Occasional things just don’t translate well. Very Lucky for Nestle, Kitto Katsu is rocking every flavor short of Insulin under the sun.