Hokuren, Hokkaido Economic Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives, launched a new business of exporting Hokkaido rice along with mineral water to Singapore.
The bottled water is newly developed specially for boosting exports of Hokkaido rice to a tropical country of Singapore, which is named as “Daisetsuzan (literally, great snow mountain) water in Hokkaido.”
At Hokuren’s section of one of the supermarkets in Singapore, packages of Hokkaido rice are displayed for sale with Hokkaido water. (© Hokuren)
At a number of supermarkets in Singapore, Hokkaido rice and its water are displayed for sale in the same section with guiding information saying “Enjoy taste of Hokkaido rice cooked with Hokkaido water.”
By exporting bottled water with rice packages, Hokuren has raised a filling ratio of the containers for rice shipment, which made it possible to transport the rice to Singapore on a regular basis.
Hokuren’s business of rice export to Singapore has taken off since this May. Main varieties of rinse-free rice sold at supermarkets in the city are “Yume-pirika (dream beautiful)” and “Nanatsu-boshi (seven stars).”
In the front of the supermarkets in Singapore, Hokuren plans to display its own advertisement emphasizing the image of a northern island of Hokkaido. “Hokuren Fair” will be also held at those supermarkets this September to disseminate information on Hokkaido’s delicious farm products among the consumers in Singapore.