Stage-Up for the Iwatsuka Brand

「Ajishirabe continued to perform well, as the effects of strengthening the brand through television commercials and other measures in the previous fiscal year continued. For Inaka no Okaki, whose sales were constrained by raw material conditions, we sought to stimulate demand and raise brand awareness by running commercials again.」

「In August 2025, the company opened Friends of Rice Park locally as a sales hub for the group’s products and is working as a group to strengthen ties with the local community and establish the brand.」

「As in the previous year, we ran television commercials featuring a popular actor as the brand image character to expand brand awareness among a broad range of consumers.」

「As part of these initiatives, the company has been broadcasting national TV commercials from November, as it did last year, featuring actor Yoshine Kyoko (芳根 京子) as the commercial’s image character.」

「In particular, the company achieved stable supply of Inaka no Okaki after reinforcing its production facilities and drove overall sales by enhancing its brand value as the company’s number-one product, including through a campaign featuring an actor with strong public appeal in TV commercials launched for the first time in 22 years.」

「The company will continue communicating information under the keyword “Friends of Rice,” working to improve its brand image and raise awareness. In addition, from 1 November it has been broadcasting national TV commercials, the first in 22 years for the company, featuring actor Yoshine Kyoko (芳根 京子) as the commercial’s image character.」

「The development division is using BEIKA Lab to develop new Iwatsuka value-added products that will delight customers, with the aim of further differentiating the company from competitors beyond the rice-cracker category. In addition to expanding new products in the Italian-style RISOUNO! range, developing limited-time products for THE Hitotsumami snack rice-cracker line, and entering new fields through collaborative products with a chocolate manufacturer, the division is creating and refining new Iwatsuka value-added products. It is also conducting interviews and surveys in connection with test sales of products under development to understand and provide the value customers want.」

「Amid intensifying competition, the company’s policy is to emphasize value rather than focus on price. It has held a promotional event for “RISOUNO!”, a new-trend BEIKA product supervised by Chef Ochiai of an Italian restaurant, with the chef in attendance, and is working to establish the brand image centered on the keyword “Friends of Rice” through initiatives such as developing gummy products and collaborative products with a chocolate manufacturer.」

「The company is working to improve its brand image by communicating information under the keyword “Friends of Rice,” with the aim of raising awareness.」

「In the second half of the fiscal year, the company will sequentially launch new products that had been held back, launch the Komegokoro series positioned as a 75th-anniversary commemorative product, expand products supervised by the proprietor of Sanpi Ryoron, and conduct careful promotional activities from the unveiling event for collaborative products supervised by Chef Ochiai of an Italian restaurant, thereby taking on the challenge of diversifying its sales channels.」

「The company is also earnestly pursuing sales initiatives to enhance brand value, including the sequential launch of new products that had been held back for the autumn and winter demand season, the launch of the Komegokoro series positioned as a 75th-anniversary commemorative product, the expansion of products supervised by the proprietor of Sanpi Ryoron, and careful promotional activities from the unveiling event for collaborative products supervised by Chef Ochiai of an Italian restaurant.」

「The company is also developing collaborative products such as Kinako Mochi, Kikyō Shingen Mochi flavor, to stimulate demand.」

「The Marketing Division continued to differentiate its offerings through proposals for displays highlighting “100% Japanese rice,” while strengthening sales of new products such as “バンザイ山椒” and “バター餅” in addition to its core standard products (TOP7).」

「The group is also working to strengthen its ability to attract customers overall, including by opening a physical store in part of a commercial facility in Nagaoka through 株式会社新潟味のれん本舗, whose main business is mail-order sales.」

「In the Sales Division, we continued to pursue differentiation, including in-store proposals highlighting the high quality of 100% domestically grown rice, and focused on expanding sales of TOP 6 products such as the core 「田舎のおかき」 and 「岩塚の黒豆せんべい」. We also addressed demand for at-home drinking through 「大人のおつまみ」 and reduced packaging materials through slim packs, working to strengthen sales.」

「In the sales division, we continued to pursue differentiation, including retail proposals prominently highlighting the use of 100% domestically produced rice. We added the new product 「黄金揚げもち」 to core products such as 「岩塚の黒豆せんべい」 and 「田舎のおかき」, designated as the TOP 6, and focused on strengthening sales.」

「We worked to open the new 「ＬＡＣＯＴＥ Iwatsuka」 shop in the Nagaoka Station building and relocate and expand the directly operated Ginza store of 「株式会社瑞花」, a premium rice-cracker specialty retailer.」

「In the Sales Division, we pursued differentiation by promoting the use of 100% domestically grown rice, broadly rolled out seasonal products made with freshly harvested rice to highlight their freshness, and worked to embed the deliciousness of the 岩塚 brand. We also focused on expanding sales of TOP 6 products, including 「田舎のおかき」 and 「岩塚の黒豆せんべい」.」

「To disseminate information about the group, we newly opened 「ＬＡＣＯＴＥ Iwatsuka」, a shop inside Nagaoka Station. Under the concept of moving from 「米菓」 to 「BEIKA」, the shop aims to serve as an interactive venue for sharing the culture of local rice and rice crackers and creating hands-on experiences with customers.」

「In conjunction with the change of era in May, we again promoted 「黒豆せんべい」 and 「田舎のおかき」 as hit products born in the Heisei era and worked to expand sales.」

「In the sales division, we strengthened the brand's messaging that all products use 100% domestically produced rice, sought to expand market share by focusing on the TOP 6, and pursued growth in our areas of strength through differentiation using products made with regional branded rice and 「あられ・おかき」 products.」

「In the Sales Division, we strengthened our differentiation strategy from competitors by highlighting the use of 100% domestically grown rice and worked to strengthen our Top 6 products. We also broadly rolled out products made with freshly harvested rice and sought to further enhance the 岩塚 brand by strongly promoting the seasonal freshness of domestically grown rice.」

「We worked to enhance the Iwatsuka brand by offering customers products emphasizing quality, including 「こしひかりの味しらべ」 made with Koshihikari rice from Uonuma and the 「岩塚のかきもちシリーズ」, carefully made with glutinous rice from Niigata Prefecture.」

「To commemorate the 40th anniversary of its launch, we released 「こしひかりの味しらべ」, made with 100% Koshihikari rice from Uonuma, and 「田舎のおかき青のりわさびプレミアム」, made with carefully selected ingredients including 100% glutinous rice from Niigata Prefecture, seaweed from the Setouchi region with a rich marine flavor, and wasabi from Azumino, Nagano Prefecture. These premium products were each sold for a limited time and were well received.」

「We acquired the trademark rights to 「米百俵」, a famed local confection of Nagaoka City, and began selling a revamped version through subsidiary 株式会社瑞花 from December, preserving its traditional flavor.」

「In the Sales Division, we have maintained our commitment to domestically grown rice and focused on expanding sales of our core products. We have also sought to increase awareness of the 岩塚 brand and revitalize rice cracker sales outlets by broadly rolling out a promotional campaign featuring 新之助, Niigata Prefecture's new branded rice, and products made with freshly harvested rice.」

「In the sales division, we emphasized the use of 100% domestically produced rice, focused on expanding sales of core products, and broadly rolled out products made with new rice to raise awareness of the Iwatsuka brand. The limited-time 「ハロウィン企画」 and the 「熊本応援企画」, continued from the previous year, were also very well received.」

「In particular, we ran the 「創業70周年ありがとうキャンペーン」 for 「黒豆せんべい」, 「きなこ餅」, and the 「田舎のおかきシリーズ」. The campaign was very well received and contributed to higher sales.」

「In the sales division, we sought to raise awareness of the Iwatsuka brand by emphasizing domestically produced rice and focusing on expanding sales of core products. As part of this effort, we strongly promoted the seasonal appeal of six products in the 「田舎のおかきシリーズ」 and 「大袖振豆もちシリーズ」 by using 100% new rice harvested during the season for new glutinous rice. Strengthened differentiated sales-promotion measures contributed to higher sales.」

「As part of a new-rice sale, we conducted a campaign for core products using 100% rice harvested in 2016 and promoted the seasonal appeal of rice crackers by rolling out products made with new rice. In a Kumamoto support campaign, we sold the 「田舎のおかきシリーズ」 for a limited one-month period from August, using 50% glutinous rice from Kumamoto and featuring Kumamon, Kumamoto's official character, on the product packaging. The campaign was very well received.」

「By emphasizing domestically produced rice and focusing on expanding sales of core products, we worked to raise awareness of the Iwatsuka brand. We also sought to expand market share by strengthening the rollout of the 「大人のおつまみシリーズ」, a range of products for the summer season.」

「We will work to improve corporate awareness through stronger communications, take on new channels, and build a network for creating delicious products using 「たなべのかりん糖」, the branded rice 「ゆきみのり」, and other products.」