As the third industry-academia collaboration project, the Faculty of Business Administration at Kindai University and 岩塚製菓 jointly developed 2 new flavors in the Fuwatto rice cracker series and a renewed version of Ajishirabe, to be launched sequentially on 9 November and 26 October 2026.
The Fuse Masaaki Seminar at the Faculty of Business Administration of Kindai University and 岩塚製菓 have been developing products through industry-academia collaboration since fiscal 2022. For this third project, they announced 2 new flavors of the Fuwatto rice cracker series and a renewed version of Ajishirabe, with students contributing their own perspectives to the product development. Students took an active role from planning through package design and promotion, and their opinions were incorporated through on-campus tasting sessions.
The 2 new Fuwatto flavors were commercialized as a seaweed flavor designed not to stick to the teeth and a lemon-lemon-lemon pepper flavor combining the acidity of lemon with the spiciness of pepper. Developed around the concept of adding a crunchy texture to the characteristic light texture of Fuwatto, the products are scheduled to go on sale at Seven-Eleven stores nationwide on 9 November.
“Ajishirabe, serious dashi flavor” is a renewed version featuring a Kansai-style dashi flavor. The product adds yuzu pepper as an accent to the deep flavor of 4 types of dashi, and the package has also been redesigned to give Ajishirabe a richer look. The design reflects survey results from the assumed target audience, including students’ parents and open-campus visitors. Sales will begin at mass retailers on 26 October.
The company plans to step up promotion during the current fiscal year, including social media campaigns and content produced by students, such as factory tours, introductions to the manufacturing process, interviews with the company president and videos featuring recipe variations.