Japan’s next biggest export to the US — Canned Coffee culture
I read a stat that said:
more than half of all coffee consumers would rather skip a shower in the morning than skip their coffee.
It’s a testament to our craze for coffee.
There’s coffee craze, and then there’s Japan.
The Japanese are mad about canned coffee.
Behold —
So how crazy is crazy?
Japan consumes 3.1 Billion Litres of canned coffee (approx. 50% of the world consumption). That’s enough to fill Tokyo’s Olympic stadium.
Canned coffee isn’t a product in Japan, it’s an entire culture. It’s available in different variations — hot, iced, milky lattes, bitter & black.
It was developed in Japan in 1969, by UCC.
Legend has it that UCC’s founder, Ueshima Tadao, was waiting for his train, and drinking coffee from a glass bottle he purchased at the station.
The rule was — you had to return the bottle back to the store.
The train came.
Mr, Tadao hadn’t finished his coffee, nor was he able to take it with him.
He hated wasting it.
It inspired Mr. Tadao to invent an anytime, anywhere drink for busy office go-ers. Thus, the canned coffee was born.
Now, it’s migrating to the US — the world’s 2nd biggest market.
If you see the price, it seems like a no-brainer.
Canned coffee brands are priced at just $1.5/cup vs $4 for Starbucks.
But Japanese brands are struggling. This may be why :
1) Different Target Market —
In Japan’s, the average canned coffee drinker is the middle-aged blue collar office worker.
In America, canned coffee is a mainstay of the youth— especially young women.
Japanese brands will have to re-brand, and re-position itself to cater to this segment. It starts by understanding what drives this segment to consume coffee.
2) Consumption
In Japan, it’s all about utility. That caffeine hit before work.
For Americans, coffee is an experience (think Starbucks). They want to be wined, dined and caffeinated — in a fancy manner.
You can’t just put coffee in a can & expect fireworks.
But, it works the other way around. US brands entering Japan don’t need to worry about experience.
They just need to re-package their coffee in cans, and let their brands do the talking.
Starbucks & Blue collar have started selling canned versions of their coffee in the country.
Will Japan’s canned coffee successfully transition to the US? The jury is still out.
