Japan

Japanese consumers have relatively high interest in functional products, and generally trust the claims on the packaging and in marketing activities. With the aim of assisting consumers to make more informed choices, a system of Foods with Function…

2023 is set to be another year of volume decline for home audio and cinema. Indeed, sales in the category have been decreasing for over a decade. It is clear that the decrease is due to a structural shift in how consumers engage with music. This has…

Facing a continuous decline in the birth rate, and consequently the population, growth in health and wellness dairy products and alternatives has been hampered. However, as consumers’ health consciousness and interest in nutrition was growing even…

Demand for weight management and wellbeing products has continued to grow in the wake of the pandemic as consumers have looked to shed the weight gained during lockdown and home seclusion, but also due increased health consciousness. Although having…

In May 2023, COVID-19 was reclassified as a class 5 infectious disease, which is the same level as influenza. Therefore, the restrictions on group activities that had been in place for a long time, since the first emergence of the pandemic in…

Rice, pasta and noodles in Japan is set to see a positive retail current value performance in 2023, due to unit price increases led by inflation and rises in production costs. Although many manufacturers increased the prices of their products several…

Value sales of premium and luxury cars went down by 2% to total JPY1.5 trillion in 2023. A significant increase in sales was seen in 2022, as a rebound was seen as the pandemic eased, and this exceptional level of growth was unable to be sustained in…

Sales of cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies in Japan have continued to recover in 2023. This is largely due to increased opportunities for consumers to go out and a shift away from the practice of wearing face masks on a daily basis. With…

Processed meat, seafood and alternatives to meat is set to suffer a continued retail volume decline in 2023, although it is expected to maintain positive retail current value growth thanks to unit price increases, driven by inflationary pressures.…

Asian speciality drinks was well-positioned to benefit from the increased focus on health brought about by COVID-19. However, most of these products are also available in liquid concentrate format. With consumers staying at home, off-trade volume…