Unlocking Secrets of Delicious Japanese Foods: JFOODO Starts Promotion to Experience UMAMI of Japanese Food Ingredients and Fermented Seasonings

The Japan Food Product Overseas Promotion Center (JFOODO) has launched an "Unlock UMAMI" promotion in the United States (With specific events in New York and Los Angeles) and Singapore to provide people with the opportunity to experience and learn about the secrets behind the deliciousness of Japanese foods derived from the combination of Japanese food ingredients and fermented seasonings, including "koji."

Image1: https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M107557/202401195521/_prw_PI1fl_9tDQgIS8.jpg

Image2: https://cdn.kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M107557/202401195521/_prw_PI2fl_J77GUqRd.jpg

Overview of promotion campaign

- Starting on January 16, 2024, the "Unlock UMAMI" promotion is underway to offer a special menu for a limited time in New York, Los Angeles, and Singapore.

- The "UMAMI MATCH" is a cooking competition program that uses Japanese food ingredients and fermented seasonings to literally "unlock the secrets of UMAMI" as part of the "Unlock UMAMI" promotion that will be aired on YouTube.

The "Unlock UMAMI" promotion has two main goals of "experiencing" and "understanding" how Japanese UMAMI is the secret behind delicious foods.

The first goal of "experiencing" UMAMI is promoting through the Restaurant Campaign where people can taste foods prepared in partnership with renowned chefs and restaurants. The Restaurant Campaign has started serving various Japanese foods using Japanese fermented seasonings (Including soy sauce, miso, mirin sweet seasoning, and rice vinegar) in combination with Japanese food ingredients at selected restaurants in New York, Los Angeles and Singapore. About 30 restaurants participate in the campaign.

The second goal of "understanding" UMAMI will be promoted through the launch of a cooking showdown program called "The UMAMI MATCH" on YouTube in February. This program pitches chefs working in America against each other using their skills and ideas to unlock UMAMI using a combination of Japanese food ingredients and fermented seasonings to demonstrate how delicious and healthy Japanese foods are.

The main theme behind this promotion is to "Unlock UMAMI, Live Deliciously Healthy with Japanese KOJI." And the promotion demonstrates how UMAMI is derived from Japanese fermented seasonings like koji and how combinations of Japanese food ingredients and fermented seasonings can be used as the key elements to create delicious and healthy foods. Furthermore, JFOODO aims to boost exports of Japanese foods and their consumption in the United States and Singapore by demonstrating the synergistic effects of Japanese food ingredients and fermented seasonings.

UMAMI is a key element found in numerous Japanese fermented seasonings including soy sauce, miso, mirin (mirin sweet seasoning) and rice vinegar, which are representatives of Japanese fermented seasonings and are all related to the koji mold (Aspergillus oryzae). Moreover, koji is created from the process through which koji mold is used to ferment rice, beans and other grains. This fermentation process is considered to be highly nutritious and healthy because it acts to increase vitamins, amino acids and other nutrients, and makes them easier to be absorbed by the human body. Furthermore, amino acids are a highly important flavor profile known as "UMAMI" to not only provide nutrition, but also to enhance flavors and aromas of various foods.

Please refer to the websites below for more information about the "Unlock UMAMI" promotion and further details about Japanese foods ingredients and fermented seasonings.

Websites:

United States: https://japan-food.jetro.go.jp/odan/us/

Singapore: https://japan-food.jetro.go.jp/odan/sg/

- Restaurant campaign

About 30 renowned restaurants in the United States (New York and Los Angeles) and Singapore participate in this campaign.

Each participating restaurant is offering special new menu items featuring food ingredients and fermented seasonings produced in Japan to be served to guests from January 16 until early March (The ending date may vary depending on the restaurant).

United States: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/202401195521-O1-Vi3jU488.pdf

Singapore: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/202401195521-O2-Mw34RJ4L.pdf

- Video contents: "The UMAMI MATCH"

A cooking showdown program using Japanese food ingredients and fermented seasonings will be aired on YouTube. This program will be highly entertaining to show how UMAMI can be used to make delicious foods. The program will pit three American chefs from differing culinary genre against each other to come up with sumptuous dishes based upon new and unexpected ideas that will draw audiences and make them want to sample each dish. This cooking program will be conducted over three rounds, during which the chefs will be asked to prepare dishes based on specific themes using Japanese food ingredients and fermented seasonings.

A Japanese chef with an extensive background in Japanese cuisine will judge how well each chef has used the Japanese food ingredients and fermented seasonings to successfully draw out the UMAMI in the dishes they have prepared.

Details: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/202401195521-O3-fRz0KQ82.pdf

- Other promotional activities

Promotional website entitled "Unlock UMAMI Live Deliciously Healthy with Japanese KOJI"

This website provides detailed information about the UMAMI promotion, including how one of the UMAMI accentuating ingredients "koji" can be used in combination with Japanese food ingredients and other fermented seasonings to create delicious dishes. Also, the website provides various contents including recipes for dishes to be offered by restaurants participating in the Restaurant Campaign, and shown on the "The UMAMI Match" program and other contents.

Instagram promotion

An Instagram account has been created to convey the appeal of Japanese food ingredients and fermented seasonings, describes the usages of koji, and introduces various recipes showing how to use other fermented seasonings in daily lives.

Official Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/unlock_umami/

UNLOCK UMAMI PR Seminar Singapore

A seminar describing the appeal and benefits of combining Japanese food ingredients and fermented seasonings was held for media and SNS influencers in Singapore. Explanations and basic information about koji and UMAMI, and an opportunity to sample various foods exemplifying Japanese food ingredients and fermented seasonings were also conducted at this seminar.

Seminar details:

Date and Time: January 15, 2024, 1:00 PM (Venue opened at 12:30 PM)

Venue Location: Masa Saito Innovative. 6A Shenton Way, OUE Building, Downtown Gallery, #01-04. Singapore 068815

Venue's website: https://www.masasaito.com/ja/location

Guest restauranteurs: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/202401195521-O4-u28U3rYs.pdf

Seminar program: What is UMAMI? What is Koji?

- How are Koji and fermented seasonings related

- How are fermented seasonings and Japanese foods related

- About Japanese food and its healthy image  

- Tasting of menu items developed using Japanese food ingredients and fermented seasonings

About JFOODO (The Japan Food Product Overseas Promotion Center)

JFOODO (The Japan Food Product Overseas Promotion Center) was established by the Japanese government in 2017 with the aim of boosting the exports of Japanese agricultural, forestry, fishery and food products by branding them and promoting them widely around the world.