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Jagarico

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jagarico
じゃがりこ
Product typePotato snack food
Produced byCalbee
CountryJapan
Introduced1995; 29 years ago (1995)

Jagarico is a family of salty snack products made primarily from processed fried potatoes. Introduced in 1995 by Calbee, Jagarico could be described as rod-shaped potato chips. According to Barabara Zec, they "have a similar appearance to French fries."[1]

Product description

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This product is sold in packages of various sizes ranging from 38 to 108 grams (1.3 to 3.8 oz). The standard size of this product is 7 cm (2.8 in) in length and roughly 7 mm (0.28 in) in diameter. Since 2012, 8.5 cm (3.3 in) "long" size products have also been marketed.[2] Moreover, thinner versions with a diameters of about 5.25 mm (0.207 in) began to hit store shelves in 2022.[3] These pre-packaged potato sticks are available in many flavors throughout Japan and in at least ten other countries.[4] To boost sales, Calbee regularly introduces new flavors while taking those items with sluggish sales out of production. For example, a "Salt and Sesame Oil" incarnation of this product was launched in 2016. At roughly the same time their "Jurassic Salt" and "Cheese Curry" flavors were discontinued due to tepid sales.[5] Moreover, in 2020 a shorter garlic-flavored version of this product that targets older consumers hit the market.[6]

According to a 2018 report, about 14.5% of Calbee's total 2017 Q1 sales were derived from Jagarico products.[7] During the third financial quarter of 2021 Jagarico sales in Japan amounted to about 34.5 billion yen, and overseas sales are an increasingly important revenue source.[8] According to a 2017 survey by Keio Group, Jagarico was ranked as the fourth most popular snack in the Tokyo area. However, the sample size for that survey was not specified.[9]

Similar products

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Although the ingredients of Jagarico are similar to many mass-marketed potato chips, their shape resembles a traditional Japanese candied sweet potato snack known as kempi.[10] According to a 1999 US Department of Agriculture report, this product is classified as a fabricated potato snack.[11] However, it resembles other shoestring potato snacks such as Koikeya's "Stick Karamucho", Morinaga's "Potelong", and Seijō Ishii's "Miraku Nori". Jagarico is also related to another Calbee product known as Jagabee. Whereas Jagabee are somewhat thick and made from unhusked whole potatoes, Jagarico are usually thinner and made from skinned potatoes. According to Onishi, Calbee tailors its products to specific audiences and Jagarico was product designed primarily for teenage women, whereas Jagabee targets older consumers.[12]

The success of many Jagarico products has spawned a number of derivative snacks. For example, around 1998 Calbee began marketing a sweet potato version of Jagarico known as "Satsumariko".[13] Moreover, a corn version of this product known as "Tomorico" has been sold nationwide since 2018.[14] That same year, a soybean incarnation of Jagarico known as "Edamarico" hit store shelves in Japan.[15] Furthermore, a thicker processed potato product known as "Poteriko" was launched in 2021.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Zec, Barabara. "The Constant Changes in Asian Potato Chips". Potato Processing International.
  2. ^ "Mō chotto! no kimochi ni kota Eru-saizu ga tōjō!" 「もうちょっと！」の気持ちにこたエルサイズが登場！ [Introducing the L-size for a bit more feeling!] (in Japanese). Calbee. September 7, 2012. Archived from the original on September 15, 2013.
  3. ^ "Jagarico Hoso-yatsu (tentative name) Salad is the first thin stick! It took about 4 years to reduce the thickness to about 75% of the regular size". Entabe: Food and Restaurant News in Japan. January 28, 2022. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022.
  4. ^ Isomamori, Senshirō (December 18, 2015). "Karubī no gurōbaru senryaku san'nyū suru beki kuni to ichiba o sunakkugashi-suki no watashi ga keiei senryaku-poi mono o tōshi-ka mesen de katatte oku yo" カルビーのグローバル戦略 参入するべき国と市場をスナック菓子好きの私が経営戦略っぽいものを投資家目線で語っておくよ [Calbee's Global Strategy: Talking about the countries and markets to enter from an investor's perspective as a snack lover]. φ-GRID (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 31, 2022.
  5. ^ Ishikawa, Tetsuya (October 27, 2019). "Jagariko gekikara indokarē aji ja gari kono rekishi" じゃがりこ 激辛インドカレー味 じゃがりこの歴史 [History of the super spicy Indian curry flavor Jagarico] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 31, 2022.
  6. ^ "Otona no jagariko wasabi-jōyu aji 2020-nen 9-gatsu 14-nichi kara hatsubai" 『大人のじゃがりこ わさび醤油味』2020年9月14日（月）から発売 [Adult Jagarico Wasabi Soy Sauce Flavor will be on sale from September 14, 2020] (in Japanese). Calbee. September 2, 2020. Archived from the original on February 8, 2022.
  7. ^ "Jagariko no regyurā saizu to eru saizu o iroiro to hikaku shite mita! Erus aizu o kau no wa jitsu wa son! ?" じゃがりこのレギュラーサイズとLサイズを色々と比較してみた!Lサイズを買うのは実は損!？ [Comparing regular and large size Jagarico in various ways! Is it actually a loss to buy the large size?] (in Japanese). August 19, 2018. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022.
  8. ^ "Calbee Group Financial Results: Fiscal year ended March 31, 2021" (PDF). Calbee Inc. May 13, 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 31, 2022.
  9. ^ Zhang, Jia Qi (May 13, 2021). "Top 10 Japanese Snacks: What's Popular at Supermarkets in Tokyo!". Live Japan Perfect Guide. Live Japan. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022.
  10. ^ "Brief Overview of Japanese Snacks". Encyclopedia of Japan. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022.
  11. ^ "Market Brief Japan : Food Processing Sector - Snack Foods" (PDF). United States Department of Agriculture. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. July 30, 1999. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 31, 2022.
  12. ^ Onishi, Mikihiro. "Karubii" カルビー [Calbee]. Meijiro University Onishi Seminar (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 31, 2022.
  13. ^ "Kotoshi mo hatsubai! Satsuma-riko de chō tekitō ni iroiro tsukutte mimashita" 今年も発売!「さつまりこ」で超適当にいろいろ作ってみました [Released this year also! I tried to make various super-neat things with "Jagarico"]. Lady FiFi (in Japanese). April 12, 2018. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022.
  14. ^ "Tōmoriko Karubī shio yude kōn no 1-pon no karorī & kakaku o shirabeta!" とうもりこ 「カルビー」 塩ゆでコーンの1本のカロリー&価格を調べた！ [Calbee's Tomoriko: I compared the calories and price with one salt-boiled corn!]. Okashina Dai-jiten (in Japanese). September 8, 2019. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022.
  15. ^ "Shin hatsubai eda mariko umashi o aji (Karubī) shōhin bunseki!" 新発売 えだまりこ うましお味（カルビー）商品分析！ [An analysis of Calbee's newly released soy bean-plum flavored product!] (in Japanese). October 1, 2018. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022.
  16. ^ "Karubīpurasu-hatsu no kitchinkā ga tōjō!" 新発売 えだまりこ うましお味（カルビー）商品分析！ [The first "Calbee Plus" kitchen car is here!] (in Japanese). August 4, 2021. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022.
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