McDonald's World Mac Le Grand‏

McDonald's is kicking off a new series of special burgers, this time with the World Mac theme. The first burgers in the new series are called Le Grand, and represent the France stop on the tour. They use ciabatta bread - one with added peppered ham and the other with added tomato.

http://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/campaign/world_mc/index.html

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Meiji Naruto Movie Collaboration‏

In what is being called a collaboration between Meiji and the makers of the new Naruto movie (Road to Ninja, Naruto The Movie), Meiji is offering special Naruto wallpapers and lockscreen images for cell phones. Details are on packages of Meiji puddings, jellies and fruit flavored milks.

http://www.meiji.co.jp/sweets/dessert/narutocmp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Sapporo Best Couple Story‏

To promote Kin no Off happoshu beer, Sapporo is holding a Best Couple (or Good Husband and Wife) contest where people submit stories that best represent what a good couple they are and then Hiromi Nagasaku (永作博美), who represents this brand, will choose the winner herself. The winner receives a night in a suite and an expensive dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel in Tokyo.

http://www.sapporobeer.jp/kinnooff/iifufu/index.html

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Food Science Japan on Twitter, Facebook & Google+

Posts also appear on Twitter, Facebook & Google+.
Comments and constructive feedback are welcome via post comments, the webform, Twitter, Facebook or Google+.
Please let me know if there is anything I have missed.
Thanks!

Twitter
https://twitter.com/FoodSciJP

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Food-Science-Japan/150435028317570

Google+
https://plus.google.com/103559610910490656487/posts

Meiji Anpanman All Star Campaign‏

Meiji is conducting a giveaway of Anpanman character goods such as children's seats, furniture and towels. To enter, collect 6 bar codes from Meiji products with Anpanman characters on them (flavored milks, juices, cheese balls, etc.) and mail them in on a postcard.

http://www.meiji.co.jp/foods_drink/drink/anpan/campaign2012/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Meiji New Xylish Flavor‏

Meiji has relaunched its entire Xylish gum line and all four flavors carry a new label, but Deep Mint is the newest and claims to result from a new process that helps the gum retain its flavor longer. They are short on details, but mention capsules (do they mean encapsulation?). They also claim the secret to the great mint taste is what they call "triple mint" a combination of quality mint leaf, mint oil and mint "essence" or "extract". This is confusing, because it sounds like 3 ingredients, but I assume they are not using whole mint leaf and I am also not sure what the difference is between an extract and an oil in this case.

In any case, they claim great mint taste and extra long lasting flavor.

There are currently four flavors in the lineup: Deep Mint, Relax Mint, Crystal Mint and Hyper Cool.

http://www.meiji.co.jp/sweets/candy_gum/xylish/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Daesang Corn Silk Tea‏

Chung Jung One (チョンジョンウォン) appears to be a/the food brand for Daesang company, in any case that is the brand which appears on products. I saw advertisements for their corn silk tea around Tokyo this week and it is for sale online, but it is not yet on the company's website (odd, and not good for marketing).

In any case, corn silk tea is said to be popular in Korea and they are trying to bring it to Japan. It advertises itself as being calorie and caffeine free. This product is promoted using the popular K-pop girls' group, KARA.

http://item.rakuten.co.jp/hiroba/10008300/

This site (below) claims many benefits for corn silk tea and traces its use back to native Americans.

http://www.teabenefits.com/herbal-tea-benefits/cornsilk-tea-benefits.html

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Sapporo Mugi to Hop Voting‏

Sapporo is holding a "I like fish" vs "I like meat" campaign with voting to promote Mugi to Hop (麦とホップ) happoshu beer which goes well with both. 2012 people will receive 400 g of Matsuzaka beef (松阪牛) and 2012 people will receive 800 g of Tokisake or Tokishirazu Salmon (時鮭). The number of giveaways obviously correspond to this year. Matsuzaka beef is a special beef from Mie Prefecture and Tokisake Salmon is a type of Salmon caught in a specific place and a specific time in Hokkaido. 5,976 people will receive Quo cards, making the giveaway to a round number 10,000 people.

http://www.sapporobeer.jp/mugitohop/senkyo/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Suntory Premium Malt's Search‏

Suntory is doing something I am surprised more companies do not do themselves. You can use their website to search for the nearest pub, "izakata" (居酒屋) or restaurant serving Suntory Premium Malt's beer. Just as the name implies, this is Suntory's premium beer and they are in a struggle with Asahi, Kirin and Sapporo to get their beer in drinking establishments. It is common for only one Japanese beer maker's products to be sold in a specific izakaya, so getting your beer in there is matter of constant competition. Assuming people would make their choice of izakaya based on the availability of Suntory Premium Malt's, this search capability could prove mutually beneficial for all three parties (Suntory, the izakaya owners and customers).

http://gourmet.suntory.co.jp/find/s_search/sp__11ZESGG0508A/temp__premium/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Daesang Red Vinegar Drink‏

Daesang, a Korean food company, sells a few select products in Japan. They appear to depend heavily on online purchases. They claim to have a 70 percent market share of the vinegar drink market in Korea. Both Japan and Korea have histories of producing and drinking vinegars and they are generally considered health drinks. As these drinks result from fermentation, almost every brand can claim unique benefits related to specific ingredients and cultures used.

Daesang sells 3 varieties of its red vinegars (紅酢 or ホンチョ) in Japan: pomegranate (ざくろ), blueberry (ブルーベリー) and wild strawberry (野いちご). This product is also promoted by a popular K-Pop girl band, KARA.

http://www.daesang.co.jp/campaign/hongcho/online2.html

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.