1. Ajinomoto Co.’s chicken porridge to be put on sale in March COURTESY OF AJINOMOTO CO
3. Hikari Shokuhin Co.’s porridge product made with Niigata-grown rice COURTESY OF HIKARI SHOKUHIN CO.
2. Kohnan Shokuryo Co.’s porridge product that can be warmed up in a cup COURTESY OF KOHNAN SHOKURYO CO.
TOKYO, Feb. 26 – The market for porridge products is recently expanding amid growing needs for the food as a daily meal, with food manufacturers introducing new items.
Porridge has typically been regarded as a dish for the elderly and the sick, but consumers became aware of the benefits of low-calorie, ready-to-eat porridge products while they stayed home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Companies are coming up with new products which are filling and easier to eat.
More people are now having porridge for breakfast or a light meal, triggering hopes for increased rice consumption.
Major food maker Ajinomoto Co. will start selling on March 18 a new chicken porridge pouch that uses domestically-produced chicken breast and Koshihikari brand rice. The product is low in calories but rich in protein.
According to the firm, the market for porridge pouches marked a year-on-year growth of more than 10 percent for two consecutive years up to 2022. The firm believes people appreciated the long-life, easy-to-eat features of the product during the pandemic.
Porridges with ingredients such as eggs and salmon are selling particularly well, with more people eating them as everyday meals. The firm said there are requests for more variety in the product lineup.
“We have increased our lineup to include products with ingredients that stand out more and are more nutritious. We hope people will have them as normal meals,” said an official of Ajinomoto’s nutrition and processed food business section.
The firm is also preparing to start full-scale sales of Kayu Kayu Kojitsu, a porridge brand targeted at younger generations that was marketed for a limited period of time last year.
Hikari Shokuhin Co., a company based in Gosen, Niigata Prefecture, which produces and sells porridge pouches made with Koshihikari brand rice grown in Niigata, is gaining support of health-conscious women with black rice porridge and porridge made with pre-germinated brown rice rich in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA).
The firm hopes the culture of eating porridges will take root in Japan just like in other Asian countries, and promotes its products to be eaten for breakfast and other occasions.
There are also products that can be quickly and easily prepared.
Kohnan Shokuryo Co., a rice product manufacturer in Matsubara, Osaka Prefecture, sells on its online shopping website products including glutinous barley porridge packaged with a cup.
The product can be put in the cup and warmed up in a microwave oven, which means a porridge bowl is not necessary.
The firm is getting more inquiries for the product amid the pandemic.