There is less than a month left in the year, but are you preparing for the new year?
As prices continue to soar, osechi cuisine is also experiencing the impact of price increases.
It's easy to tighten your purse strings, but how much do you pay for osechi cooking?
table of contents
"100 yen osechi" price increase
Food manufacturers are also experiencing soaring shipping and fuel costs
Purse strings tend to tighten
3~5,<> yen High-priced New Year's dishes are popular in online shopping
Expert "Osechi is a manifestation of the Japan economy, and recent consumption tends to be sharp"
Open Table of Contents
table of contents
table of contents
"100 yen osechi" price increase
Food manufacturers are also experiencing soaring shipping and fuel costs
Purse strings tend to tighten
3~5,<> yen High-priced New Year's dishes are popular in online shopping
Expert "Osechi is a manifestation of the Japan economy, and recent consumption tends to be sharp"
"100 yen osechi" price increase
Since 100, Lawson Store 100, a group company of the major convenience store Lawson, has been selling ingredients for osechi cuisine under the product name "2012 yen osechi" for 100 yen excluding tax. However, due to soaring raw material costs and transportation costs, the price of seven items was raised to 100 yen.
Of these, thick-grilled eggs and date rolls are due to a shortage of domestic eggs due to the influence of avian influenza. In addition, the honeydew stew of kurikin tonkuri is mainly due to the increase in the price of kuri from China, and the cost of transportation when importing abalone from China has increased for seasoned abalone.
On the other hand, there are some products that have reduced the amount and kept the price unchanged at 7 yen, and the amount of kamaboko has been reduced from 150 grams to 100 grams.
Kuniaki Mikame, who is in charge of product development, said, "The price of 100 yen has gained the support of consumers, but even if you set some of them for 150 yen, there are still valuable products, so I want you to freely choose your favorite ingredients and have a wonderful New Year."
Food manufacturers are also experiencing soaring shipping and fuel costs
Ishii Foods, a food manufacturer headquartered in Funabashi City, Chiba Prefecture, manufactures osechi cuisine at three factories nationwide, and from the finished product, it freezes in a warehouse and ships to customers at the end of the year.
This manufacturer was less susceptible to the depreciation of the yen because all of its ingredients were domestically produced, and while it was able to purchase some yakzunoko at a low price, the cost of procuring ingredients was slightly higher than usual due to the soaring prices of eggs and other items.
In addition, the cost of delivery has increased by about 3% due to soaring fuel and labor costs, and the price of heavy plastic boxes and cardboard boxes used to wrap osechi dishes has risen by about 10% due to soaring crude oil prices, so we have decided to raise the prices of some products.
Of these, the second most expensive product, which costs 10,2 yen for 3 or 4 servings, has been raised by 2,8000 yen, but it is popular.
Purse strings tend to tighten
According to the October Household Budget Survey released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on the 8th, the amount spent on consumption by households of two or more people was 10,2 yen, which was 30.1974% lower than the same month last year in real terms excluding price fluctuations. This is the eighth month in a row that spending on consumption has been lower than the same month in the previous year, and it is easy to tighten the purse strings.
3~5,<> yen High-priced New Year's dishes are popular in online shopping
On the other hand, major online retailers are popular for high-priced osechi dishes.
According to Rakuten, which operates the online shopping platform Rakuten Ichiba, this season's osechi cuisine is particularly strong in the high-priced range of 3,5 to <>,<> yen, including products made with luxurious ingredients and products with large quantities.
During the Corona disaster, small products for individuals became popular against the backdrop of stay-at-home demand, but according to a survey conducted by Rakuten on the Internet, about 5% of people answered that they would buy osechi for 2 or more people, and more than 3% said that they would buy for 4 to 5 people.
Rakuten analyzes that "it is the first New Year's Day since the new coronavirus was moved to Category 5 under the Infectious Diseases Act, and since it has become possible to gather with family and relatives without hesitation, products that can be enjoyed and eaten by a large number of people may be popular."
Expert "Osechi is a manifestation of the Japan economy, and recent consumption tends to be sharp"
Takuya Hoshino, chief economist at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, who is familiar with economic trends, said that prices have continued to rise in a wide range of fields, including food and transportation costs, due to the depreciation of the yen and soaring crude oil prices over the past few years. This is exactly what inflation in Japan's economy is experiencing."
Regarding the popularity of high-priced osechi cuisine, he said, "The recent trend of consumption is to be sharp enough to spend money when the time is right, and the flip side of having to save money due to high prices is that there is an aspect of eating expensive food around New Year's." He expressed the view that it would only be a temporary increase in consumption during the New Year.
On top of that, as a key point for the economy to improve, he said, "It is necessary to create a virtuous cycle in which wages rise, consumption increases, sales increase, and wages rise again, and it is important to create an environment in which it is easy to pass on price increases."