Japanese cuisine is gaining popularity worldwide.
One factor cited is Japan's status as a nation known for health and longevity, coupled with the increase in travelers visiting Japan. The table below lists foods popular among foreign tourists visiting Japan. Hidden within these items are hints for entering your country's market.
The following five items are all processed foods, offering the option to import products already manufactured in Japan. However, some of these could also be prepared and served to customers as a food business in your country.
Today, we focus on such food businesses popular with foreign tourists.
|
Category |
Popular Products |
Key Features |
|---|---|---|
|
Instant Noodles |
Nissin Cup Noodles, U.F.O. Yakisoba |
Convenient, iconic Japanese flavors, great souvenirs |
|
Puddings & Sweets |
Ohayo Jersey Milk Pudding, Glico Big Pucchin Pudding |
Rich taste, uniquely Japanese desserts |
|
Health Drinks |
Kireto Lemon, Lipovitan D, Ukon no Chikara |
Popular for recovery, beauty, and wellness |
|
Ready-to-Eat Meals |
S&B Golden Curry, Nagatanien Ochazuke Nori |
Authentic Japanese home-style flavors |
|
Bread & Spreads |
Sonton Kinako Fried Bread-Flavored Sugar Toast Spread |
Nostalgic, quirky, and social media-friendly |
The answer is Jersey milk.
Do you know Jersey cows? They are brown cows originating from the UK, slightly smaller in size. Their milk is rich, with a milk fat content exceeding 5% and a non-fat solids content exceeding 9%. The milk has large fat globules, making it ideal for butter production. It also contains abundant carotene, giving it a deep yellow color.
Pudding made with this Jersey milk is hugely popular with tourists, and soft serve ice cream made with it is also a huge hit.
At New Chitose Airport, the gateway to Hokkaido, over 40 shops offer soft serve ice cream. The number is astonishing. Hokkaido is Japan's dairy kingdom, home to vast numbers of dairy cows. Soft serve made from milk is where Hokkaido shines brightest.
A contest among these over 40 shops is held annually. The shop that has consistently placed second in this contest for 2024 and 2025 is “Jersey brown,” the soft-serve ice cream shop using Jersey milk featured here.
What about the potential for soft serve ice cream in your country?
This is Japan's top-ranked soft serve ice cream.
For more information, click here