Various kinds of cooking appliances and new types of beer are gaining popularity as consumers are taking note that they improve the experience of eating and drinking at home.
Because people have started to refrain from dining out or going to bars due to the spread of the novel coronavirus, there apparently is growing demand for re-creating the atmosphere of an izakaya-style pub at home. But be careful not to drink too much: there is no "closing time" at home.
-- Takoyaki dumplings, yakiniku
"When I take out the takoyaki dumpling cooking device, the whole family gets excited. It's not just the adults who get excited, but my three kids jump for joy," said a 41-year-old company employee from Tokyo, adding that takoyaki parties have been a regular event with his family.
He used to go out for drinks after work, but has started drinking at home since last spring due to the spread of the virus.
According to Yamazen Corp., a trading company specializing in machinery in Osaka Prefecture, sales of takoyaki cooking devices between April last year and February increased by about 70% from the same period of the previous year.
Sales of a smoke-reducing yakiniku grill exceeded 40,000 units, Yamazen said. The grill was launched in July last year to meet the increasing demand for eating and drinking at home.
The shape of the underside of the plate is designed to efficiently remove fat and reduce smoke that causes odors.
Lithon, based in Osaka Prefecture, launched its senbero maker in December. The appliance is an electric heater with a special net or container that can be used to heat sake in a tokkuri sake server, heat oden, or roast dried fish.
"It's compact and the right size for one person. When people use [the product] at online drinking parties, I heard it becomes the talk of the participants," an official of Lithon said.
The popularity of this product has spread by word of mouth, with one person saying, "It seems to make drinking at home easier." The product is in short supply, so the firm is rushing to increase production.
The Air Oven by Recolte, for its part, makes it easy to cook fried chicken -- which goes well with alcohol -- at the table. The appliance was launched in December 2019. Recolte is a brand of Tokyo-based home appliance maker Winner's Co.
The non-frying cooker circulates hot air to cook fried chicken and yakitori among others. It is also recommended for frozen potatoes, which get cooked to a beautiful brown.
"The key to its popularity is that it can be left alone to cook and there is no need to clean up the oil," an official of the firm said.
-- Foamy beer appeal
There are also new products on the market that allow customers to enjoy the kind of beer served at restaurants at home.
Kirin Brewery Co. this spring launched its full-fledged Kirin Home Tap, a membership-based draft beer delivery service that delivers plastic bottles filled with freshly brewed draft beer twice a month. Used with Kirin's special beer server, members can draw a glass of beer with a creamy foam head anytime they desire.
Asahi Breweries Ltd. started selling its Super Dry draft in special cans at convenience stores nationwide on April 6, ahead of general commercial sales. The new foam-facilitating cans, which create a head by pulling the pull tab, are said to be designed to naturally produce fine foam when opened.
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