Trends in Japan - CScout Japan Blog

Pet Trends: Water purification and graphic stamps

Written by: Rebecca Milner on September 2, 2008 at 11:01 pm | In Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Technology & Gadget Trends | No Comments

It’s been awhile since we checked in on specialty products for pets, so here’s an update. While we aren’t seeing the same bombardment of items as we had in the recent past, a couple of interesting ones did catch our eye.

Kizna Co. has created a water purifying system especially for pets, called Peture (pet + nature). The high-grade system removes all chlorine and toxins from the water while maintaining traces of key minerals to create purportedly healthier, more balanced water for animals.

In addition to the drinking function, the Peture also has a shower attachment so pets can be clean and pure inside and out.

It only makes sense that the growing number of consumers demanding higher degrees of “pureness” and “wellness” from their food products and home appliances would apply these priorities to the products they buy for their pets. This level of purification doesn’t come cheap, however, including a two-year warranty the Peture comes to ¥155,400 (about $1,500).

Now on the gimmicky side (remember beer for dogs?), an Osaka-based hanko maker is offering a service to include an illustration of your pet onto your name stamp. Hanko are the personal stamps registered by individuals to serve as their signature and are used on official documents.

Interested customers are asked to send a photo of their pet, the image of which is simplified into a small illustration that accompanies their name. The process, which takes about two weeks, starts at ¥4,980 for a standard hanko and ¥3,900 for a smaller, self-inking type. A small price to pay for the ability to merge your identity with the likeness of your beloved companion.

Actually its not just for pets, you can have a person too. Some of the other designs, which aren’t created to resemble anyone in particular, are kind of neat.

In addition to demonstrating a little bit of personality, elaborate hanko are used to prevent fraud, though we’re not sure if the pet ones will pass at the bank.

Tags: Personalization, pets, Wellness
Category: Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Technology & Gadget Trends
Other categories: Marketing & Ad Trends

Personalized life with manga, drama, and rice

Written by: Rebecca Milner on August 15, 2008 at 4:11 pm | In Fashion & Lifestyle Trends, Marketing & Ad Trends | 1 Comment

Ultra-personalized souvenirs of special occasions might be a global trend, but Japan has added it’s own unique approaches to the theme.

Sakura Comics has debuted a service that allows couples to turn their love story into an original comic book, called “Wedding Story Manga.”

The plot unfolds around a personal story (a first meeting or a proposal, for example) while the characters are drawn to resemble photos provided by the customers. Clients can choose the style of drawing from a variety of samples and the length of the comic, from a two page black and white leaflet (¥29,800) to a 16-page full color mini book (from ¥191,800).

The finished product is intended as a souvenir for newlyweds to give to guests at the reception.

Another example is the Koizora-themed souvenir photo campaign from Watabe Wedding. This limited time service invites couples into a studio designed to resemble scenes from the incredibly popular drama Koizora (“Love Sky”), allowing couples to act out their favorite moments and poses. The professional images are then compiled into a souvenir photo book.

A TV version of the drama, which originated as a mobile phone novel, will run on TBS from August through September, as will Watabe Wedding’s campaign (package price from ¥20,000).

Weddings aren’t the only example, Yoshimiya has created a service for announcing the birth of a newborn with a commemorative bag of rice.

Not only the does the bag have the babies face printed on it, but the rice inside measures exactly the same as the baby’s birth weight. The idea is that far-away relatives can simulate holding the new family addition.