Audio By Carbonatix
If you thought Coca Cola Vanilla was a weird soft drink, the flavors developed by Shizuoka Prefecture-based company Kimura Beverage will probably blow your mind.
When it comes to new and completely unexplored soft drink flavors, Kimura Beverage is considered somewhat of a pioneer in Japan. Remember, this is the same country where limited-edition flavors for popular soft drinks – like sakura Pepsi or Coca Cola Apple – are pretty much the norm. What sets Kimura apart from any other drinks company is the originality of their flavors, which range from pickled plums to fish eggs and potato chips.
Curry cola, melon bread cola, or even eel cola are just some of the crazy flavours Kimura launched on the market over the years. And there’s more to these treats than the name and fancy label, According to Nippon TV, the company spends up to a year developing a flavour.
For example, for their latest creation – a soft drink that reportedly tastes like spicy mentaiko (salted and spiced fish eggs) – Kimura mixologists spent a year trying to get the flavour just right and eliminate the off-putting fish flavour.
Kimura Beverage has a portfolio of more than 100 soft drinks, many of which consist of unusual flavours. The company’s strategy is to produce as many flavours as possible, to appeal to a wider audience, and the weird flavours have their own part to play in this.
Kimura says many of its unusual flavours are bought by tourists as souvenirs, and that the drinks sometimes hits in regions where the recipes they are based on are popular.
For example, the company chose to market its spicy mentaiko drink in Fukuoka, where the salted and spiced fish eggs are very popular.
The popular soft drinks company also exports to 40 different countries, including the U.S. and Australia
Latest Stories
-
Six arrested in Tema warehouse robberies, stolen goods recovered
31 minutes -
NACOC arrests 5 students at Central University campus over cannabis-laced products
34 minutes -
“There is an urgent need for renewed action against child labour in Africa”
42 minutes -
Agric Minister denies rift with Finance Ministry over GH¢1.6 billion release
42 minutes -
Standard Chartered celebrates 130 years of partnership and progress with clients
44 minutes -
We’ve issued notices — Weija-Gbawe MCE on planned demolition exercise
54 minutes -
40 regain sight through Weija-Gbawe MP’s eye care intervention
60 minutes -
Complete Farmer introduces satellite-powered farming tool to help growers boost productivity
1 hour -
Diaspora Girls SHS in distress: Students learn under trees, attend classes in canteen amid severe infrastructure deficit
1 hour -
From academic theorists to absolute executioners — McDan’s powerful charge to Wisconsin graduates
1 hour -
Family of young lawyer who reportedly died of cardiac arrest over Black Stars win appeals for privacy
1 hour -
Government is considering decentralising teacher recruitment – Haruna Iddrisu
1 hour -
Fire guts Wa West Hospital drug store; leaders pledge support
2 hours -
Accra under water, again: Inside Ghana’s 66-year flooding crisis that nobody has fixed
2 hours -
Three killed, nine injured as gunmen attack Odomi community in Nkwanta South
2 hours