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Wanna get swole? And are you also a raging Hatsune Miku stan? One company is betting there’s enough of a crossover there to push volume on a new protein powder featuring the virtual singer’s visage. Or, at least, that it’ll draw enough attention with its…interesting flavors that it can generate some social media buzz.
Green onion-flavored protein + leg day = winning?
The high-protein craze is one of the better fitness fads to sweep the world in the past few decades. And it hasn’t missed Japan. It’s pretty easy here to find high protein options in stores like Don Quixote and even in convenience stores (“combini“) like 7-11.
Protein powders are also readily available in a number of brands. And now – at least, temporarily – another combatant has entered the ring.
The product of sports supplement manufacturer UENI Trading Company (Daito Ward, Tokyo), the Hatsune Miku + MY ROUTINE whey protein powder is a limited-time collaboration between UENI and Crypton Future Media, which sells the Vocaloid program from which Miku was born.
Popular Twitter illustrator Saine drew the three package illustrations – one for each of the product’s three different flavors.
As for the flavors, there are some…interesting choices here. Two of the flavors – “Chocolate with just the right amount of sweetness” (程よい甘さのチョコレート風味) and “refreshing muskat [grape]” (爽やかマスカット風味) are standard flavors for protein powders and vitamin jelly drinks in Japan.
It’s the third flavor that drew many Twitter users’ eyes: “handcrafted green onion potage flavor” (こだわりのネギポタージュ風味). The special flavor is a nod to the Japanese leek as a symbol of Hatsune Miku popularized by Vocaloid user Otomania.
The protein powder is available at select stores, including Donki. You can also purchase it online from U.HEALTH & BEAUTY ONLINE. Sorry, non-Japan fans – the store doesn’t appear to ship internationally. You’ll have to try and Tenso it.
This isn’t the first nutritional brand to do this kind of promotional crossover. Popular protein brand beLEGEND currently has a collaboration protein powder with popular candy brand MILKY.
About that green onion flavor…
The advertising copy for the chocolate protein powder reads: “For those of you who dream of a six-pack! Move, drink protein, move, drink protein, drink protein, drink protein, drink protein…it’s so delicious you may not drink anything but protein!? The perfect chocolate protein powder for everyday consumption!”
So what’s the sales pitch for the green onion/Japanese green onion flavor? Glad you asked:
“No way…green onion soup flavor!? I’ll drink it if you tell me to…(glug, glug) It’s good!? It’s totally green onion soup flavored! Guys! Try this with your own tongue!”‘
Someone asked me on Twitter whether “green onion soup” was a popular protein powder flavor here. To which the answer is – no, absolutely not. Typical flavors include chocolate, strawberry, and royal milk tea. It’s pretty obvious from the marketing company that UENI knows this one’s gonna be a tough sell to anyone but hardcore Hatsune Miku fans.
But is it any good?
I only know about this product because I caught sight of it while shopping at Donki the other day. At the time, I happened to need a new bag of chocolate protein powder. (I also needed a toilet plunger and a Dow scrubbing brush. But that’s an unrelated – and far more disgusting – story.)
I was tempted to try it just for the experience if nothing else. (Not the green onion soup, though. I’d only try that on a dare.) But the product doesn’t particularly appear to me. It’s fairly low protein per serving – 20g as opposed to 24 to 27g for many protein powders. And it appears to be regular whey protein. I prefer whey protein isolate (WPI), which has better absorption and relatively little lactose.
And then there’s the price. My regular go-to protein powder, ALPRON WPI, sells for about 3900 yen for a 900g bag. The ALPRON is also 27g protein per serving. The Miku powder goes for around the same price (4212 yen, tax included) but for a mere 600g bag. Not a great value solely from a price standpoint. It seems the company is hoping the collab will appeal to Miku fans who want to start a bulk-up program.
I’m not likely to spend my own money on this. Particularly not on the green onion flavor. However, should UENI (or some Patron who wants to see us suffer) see fit to send some samples our way, I’d be happy to take one for the team and report back to you.
What to read next
The Hatsune Miku Affair: Husband “Cheats” On His Wife with Virtual Idol
Sources
世界的人気のバーチャル・シンガー「初音ミク」と プロテインブランド「MY ROUTINE」のコラボプロテイン！4/5(水)WEB先行発売・4/12(水)一般発売開始. PR Times
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