Japanese Retailers Trying to Overcome Soaring Rice Prices

   Tokyo, April 20 (Jiji Press)--The historic surge in rice prices in Japan has led retailers to seek alternatives, using less expensive ingredients like barley and noodles in bento meal boxes to curb prices and retain customers.
   Some retailers are expanding the sale of lower-priced foreign rice.
   In March, convenience store chain Lawson Inc. started selling the "Okazudon!" series of bento products, which contain less rice but more spaghetti and side dishes in order to reduce costs while securing volume.
   Due to the soaring rice prices, "the process from product development to sales has become more than twice as difficult as last year," President Sadanobu Takemasu has said.
   Natural Lawson stores, targeting health-conscious consumers, began to mix "mochimugi" chewy barley into rice for all chilled bento products, replacing a blend of rice and minor grains previously used in the products.

(2025/04/20-20:30)