Award-winning U.S. Pork Recipes Gain Additional Traction in Japan
Published: Jan 06, 2012
A promotion that USMEF-Japan conducted last fall with Japan’s leading retail chain continues to bear fruit for the U.S. pork industry.
In August and September of last year, USMEF-Japan partnered with Seven & i Holdings, operator of Japan’s largest supermarket chain, and Cook Pad, Japan’s largest cooking website, to conduct an American pork recipe contest. Cook Pad, which contains more than 800,000 recipes and has an estimated 460 million visitors per month, set up a special Web page for the contest.
In August and September of last year, USMEF-Japan partnered with Seven & i Holdings, operator of Japan’s largest supermarket chain, and Cook Pad, Japan’s largest cooking website, to conduct an American pork recipe contest. Cook Pad, which contains more than 800,000 recipes and has an estimated 460 million visitors per month, set up a special Web page for the contest.
Participation in the contest required consumers to purchase Seven Premium Ham, which is made from American pork loin. Before the start of the contest, samples of Seven Premium Ham were distributed to 400 followers of Cook Pad to encourage them to enter the contest and discuss it with their fellow readers. Contest winners then had their recipes printed on packages of Seven Premium Ham.
The promotion has entered a new phase as Seven & i Holdings has begun a tie-in promotion with its group of retailers - Ito Yokado, York Benimaru and York Mart. For this campaign, USMEF developed two special labels featuring winning U.S. pork recipes while Seven & i Holdings developed recipe cards featuring winning Seven Premium Ham recipes. Products featuring these labels and recipes cards are now displayed at more than 400 retail outlets.
USMEF-Japan Senior Marketing Director Takemichi Yamashoji said the promotion, which is funded through support from the Pork Checkoff Program, has offered tremendous opportunities for building demand for U.S. pork.
“The enormous audience that Cook Pad reaches enabled us to get the message of the quality and taste of American pork products to thousands of consumers at one time,” he explained. “And as we enter the next phase with prominent U.S. pork labeling and recipe cards, we really drive home the message of product quality and enjoyment with the consumer.”
Through the first 10 months of 2011, U.S. pork exports to Japan are on pace to establish yet another annual value record. Japan has imported 410,057 metric tons (904 million pounds) valued at $1.616 billion – increases of 14 percent in volume and 19 percent in value over 2010. With two months of results still to be posted, this export value total is within 2 percent of last year’s all-time annual value record of $1.645 billion.
“The enormous audience that Cook Pad reaches enabled us to get the message of the quality and taste of American pork products to thousands of consumers at one time,” he explained. “And as we enter the next phase with prominent U.S. pork labeling and recipe cards, we really drive home the message of product quality and enjoyment with the consumer.”
Through the first 10 months of 2011, U.S. pork exports to Japan are on pace to establish yet another annual value record. Japan has imported 410,057 metric tons (904 million pounds) valued at $1.616 billion – increases of 14 percent in volume and 19 percent in value over 2010. With two months of results still to be posted, this export value total is within 2 percent of last year’s all-time annual value record of $1.645 billion.