TOKYO: In hope of boosting sales of bread, whose consumption slows down during hot season, some specialty stores and manufacturers in Japan are focusing on selling “cold bread,” which can be eaten like a dessert.

As a weaker yen has pushed up prices of raw materials such as wheat and utility costs, it is essential to increase or at least maintain sales in order for bread shops and manufacturers to survive, and many of them are proposing new ways of eating bread so as to attract more consumers.

YuaBread Inc., which offers a delivery service of frozen bread, developed bread eaten cold after defrosting naturally, jointly with seven bakeries in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido and other areas. The company, based in Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture, eastern Japan, will deliver eight kinds of such bread, including fried bread with light soy milk cream and orange-flavored steamed bread, to customers who register for regular purchases by mid-June.

According to credit research firm Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd., the number of bankruptcies of bakeries in fiscal 2023 stood at 37, about double the previous year’s total. A partner of YuaBread was also forced to close due to poor summer sales and high raw materials prices.

YuaBread CEO Kenta Yano said, “The number of people going out has decreased due to the scorching heat in recent years, and customer traffic is affected from early summer.” The company’s aim is to allow people to enjoy cold bread at home through its delivery service.

All Hearts Company Inc., based in the central Japan city of Nagoya, which operates bakeries such as Neko Neko, sells a limited number of refreshing yogurt-flavored cat-shaped bread that stimulates appetite even in hot weather through its official online store. The product, which can be eaten frozen, “has a chewy texture and its cool feeling is addictive,” a public relations official of the company said.

Hattendo Co., known for its cream-filled rolls, has been selling bread that can be eaten frozen like ice cream since last year. In late April, the company, based in Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan, released melon-flavored frozen bread at FamilyMart Co.’s convenience stores.

JIJI Press