Whenever I’m back in the U.S., I like to go to the grocery store and compare the various products I see with stores back in Japan. American companies like using “brand extension” to create spin-off products tied to existing brands — this is where such such wonderful ideas as Colgate frozen dinner entrees, Coors’ bottled mineral water and FritoLay’s brand lemonade came from — and when I go into a store in the U.S. I’m never sure what wacky new crossover product I’ll see. It’s also fun to check out the local versions of familiar products in Japan, like the chicken flavored instant yakisoba noodles, or green tea flavored with lemon, mint, and passionfruit, which would freak out any Japanese who saw them. On the other hand, these products have a “strangeness” about them (from the Japanese point of view) which makes them fun to bring back to the J-List staff as souvenirs.
Green tea sold in the U.S. comes in flavors that would surprise Japanese if they knew about them.
