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Japanese combinis are known for offering delicious food and limited-time items that suit the season. However, a new limited time – and limited location – offering from 7-11 is kicking up a debate.
Limited time, limited area
The whipped cream sandwich isn’t a new thing. A staple snack, you can buy some variation on the item at any convenience store in Japan. For example, Family Mart sells a whipped cream sandwich with chocolate. Whipped cream sandwiches with strawberries are also popular.
Whipped cream bread is popular enough that the site Mogu Nabi tracks what products combinis are releasing in a given season. For winter 2023, the site highlights 10 different products. Among them, a whipped cream melonpan (Family Mart), a three-cornered whipped cream and custard pie (Lawson 100), and blueberry whipped cream bread (7-11).
But it’s 7-11’s latest release that’s drawing eyeballs. The new chocolate mint sandwich comes from a partnership between Japan’s largest convenience store chain and the Hokkaido company Kitami Hakka (Kitami Mint), which produces a range of peppermint-based products.
It’ll be back (probably)
The product isn’t just available for a limited time – it’s available in a limited area, too. According to the announcement on Kitami Hakka’s official Twitter, it will be available in the city of Kitami in Hokkaido, as well as 136 other stores in Hokkaido’s Kushiro region. So unless you live in this region in Hokkaido or plan to visit soon, you’re out of luck.
The good news for mint lovers is that the sandwich is a recurring item. ITMedia first reported on it back in August, when it sold in the region for a limited time as an experiment.
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Chocolate mint sandwich: delicious? Or like eating toothpaste?
So will the chocolate mint sandwich sell? Is this something people are clamoring for?
When we initially shared this news on Unseen Japan’s X account, opinion seemed split among English speakers.
Many commenters exclaimed that they’d eat the hell out of this – and would even move to Hokkaido for the chance to gobble it down. Others expressed revulsion. Said one commenter: “Why would I eat this when I can eat toothpaste straight from the tube”.
Another expressed confusion: “For a split second I thought this was an egg salad sandwich gone bad and I nearly screamed.”
But what do native Japanese snackers think? Reaction on the X account @sweetroad5, which tracks new sweets as they’re released in Japan, was largely positive. The largest complaint was that the sandwich was only available in Hokkaido. Many called for 7-11 to expand sales of the limited-time item nationwide.
Japan’s chocolate mint boom
As ITMedia notes, the product comes as Japan is experiencing something of a chocolate mint boom. Chocolate mint ice cream has become especially popular, with brands such as Baskin-Robbins and Meiji Essel Supercup producing their own takes on the classic combo.
According to snack manufacturer Morinaga, chocolate mint exploded in popularity in 2019, with sales of chocolate mint-related goods going up by 128%. The combination is most popular among young women in their 20s.
7-11 says they originally developed the chocolate mint sandwich to appeal to this growing base of chocolate mint lovers – the チョコミン党 (chokomin-tou), or “Chocolate Mint [Political] Party”, in Japanese.
Back in August, 7-11 said it couldn’t release sales numbers for the chocolate mint sandwich but referred to sales as “promising”. Given that the sandwich is back for a second run, I can only assume the company concluded it has a hit on its hands.
Sources
セブン「チョコミントサンド」に反響 “チョコミン党”以外も開拓. ITMedia
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