Trends in Japan » Mercien

Shava Dava, Uchi Gochi, drink names explained

Written by: Rebecca Milner on June 26, 2008 at 1:28 am | In Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Marketing & Ad Trends | No Comments

Some of our favorite convenience store products have some pretty funny names, like “Crunky” chocolate and “Pocky” biscuits. In many cases however these names are not just catchy, but evocative of a sound: “Crunky,” the sound of the crispy chocolate being crunched and “Pocky,” the sound of the crisp biscuit stick being snapped in two.

Another example is “shava dava,” a jazzy sound reminiscent of scatting in music and the name of a new beverage from Kirin.

The sparkling beverage is flavored with grapefruit juice and vinegar (vinegar in small doses diluted is a common health drink in Japan). According to the press release, the name “Shava Dava” is meant to allude to the sound of the drink’s fizzing bubbles and give the product a cool image to appeal to concerning adult customers.

Shava Dava is an example of the repetitive onomotopeia common in the Japanese language. Words like “goro goro” (the sound of lying about the house) and “kira kira” (the sound of sparkling) are two oft-heard examples.

Mercian’s latest Uchi Gochi wine series is a play on words created to sound like the examples above (and thus appeal to Japanese ears) but is actually a condensed version of the phrase “uchi gohan gochisou,” which translates roughly to “eat at home.”

The wine series, which includes two reds and a white, is designed to suit traditional home-cooked meals. Meanwhile, the website is full of advice for how to pair wine and foods, like matching the smooth, slightly sweet red with a traditional favorite like ginger grilled pork.

While the Japanese have been regularly drinking wine out for years, the idea of drinking at home, especially because wine can be a tough match for many traditional dishes, is still relatively uncommon.