The Prevalence of Matcha-based Sweets and Drinks

Abstract

In recent years we have seen sweets and drinks made from matcha (抹茶：Matcha) are popular in Japan and are spreading overseas. In this article we will explore how these things happen. When did it start? The Study have shown that the factors that make matcha-based sweets and drinks popular both at Japan and abroad are due to the Japanese sweets food culture, also known as wagashi (和菓子：wagashi) made from matcha has a long history.
In 1958, the first matcha soft cream was produced in Japan, followed by a major confectionery manufacturer in Japan that began to use matcha in production and sold in large numbers throughout the country and are exported to foreign countries. And large international companies such as Haagen-Dazs produced matcha-flavored ice cream cups in 1996, and the last one was due to the use of the Cool Japan policy to push the Japanese food industry, including sweets and drinks made from matcha to Japanese soft power. There are cafes that use matcha to create menus both in Japan and abroad. It also generates tourism income from foreigners who like sweets and drinks made from matcha come to Japan to experience the culture in person. To understand the proliferation of matcha-based sweets and drinks from overseas, therefore analyzed the marketing strategies of 3 major brands together, namely Haagen-Dazs matcha ice cream, Uji matcha KitKat and Starbucks matcha latte, found that the three brands, despite having different strategies, But each contributed to the prevalence of matcha-based sweets and drinks.