By Mitori Liu
Oct 26, 2022
Story brief:
The Japanese food brand Meiji is going to launch two functional yoghurt products that helps to reduce belly fat to assist in solving obesity, Japanese’s top health concern.
Story in detailed description:
According to an article on nutraingredients (https://www.nutraingredients-asia.com/Article/2022/09/27/meiji-launching-two-new-ffcs-for-reducing-belly-fat?aca_news_section=Global+Industry+News#), both the yoghurt and the yoghurt drink contain a kind of heat-killed lactic acid bacteria, which was proven to have a strong influence on adjusting abdominal fat. The innovation was based on the customer research among Japanese consumers, which revealed that both male and female consumers regard obesity as the top health concern and recognize their lack of exercise due to quarantine. The type of lactic acid bacteria is considered as a newly-developed strain of functional yoghurt, so great potential can be seen on the further application of it.
Implication:
The innovation of the belly-fat-killed functional drinks targets customers with very specific needs in terms of losing weight, since there is a variety of reasons for losing weight, including looking slim on each part of the body, and reducing the risk of some diseases caused by fat. Thus, it is important to think about the deeper motivation and reason behind a general need when designing products. For instance, for those who seek food product cuteness, innovators should dive deeper to research on how cuteness is defined among diverse groups of users with such demand before taste, smell and package design, as well as the marketing strategy of the product.