Nov. 2023, 1
Josai University Commercializes “Golden Kabosu Yokan” Using Local Specialties as a Cross-Faculty Collaborative Project
Josai University (Sakado City, Saitama Prefecture, President Yozo Fujino) A student who belongs to the sports nutrition circle where Assistant Professor Junta Ito of the Department of Medicine and Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences serves as an adviser, and a member of the Modern Advertising Research Seminar led by Associate Professor Keiya Tabe of the Faculty of Business Administration. The students worked together to develop a yokan using Chichibu Kogane Kabosu, a specialty of Ogano Town, Saitama Prefecture.The result of a cross-departmental industry-government-academia collaborative education program.
Yokan is manufactured by Kinoshita Bean Paste in Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture.A student of the Department of Medical Nutrition, who aims to become a registered dietitian, came up with a Yokan recipe using Chichibu Kogane Kabosu, a specialty of Ogano Town, and adjusted the texture and taste.Business administration students studying marketing and management were in charge of naming and package design.
The product package, which uses a citrus-like cloisonné Japanese pattern, creates a Japanese image.The package is designed with a QR code that can be used to access the website of “Chichibu Kogane Kabosu” operated by Ogano Town, and “Kaboshika”, the character of the Ogano Town Kogane Kabosu Festival Executive Committee.
The golden Kabosu is cultivated with care and love while protecting it from diseases and harmful birds and animals until it reaches full maturity.For this yokan, they used golden kabosu, which had been planned to be disposed of because it did not meet the shipping standards, contributing to the reduction of food waste.
A student from the Department of Medicine and Nutrition who participated said, "We processed the whole fruit and peel into a paste and kneaded it into yokan so that you could feel the sourness and aroma peculiar to the golden kabosu. We hope that many people will know the golden kabosu of Ogano Town. I want people to taste that flavor,” he said.A student from the Faculty of Business Administration also said, “I had a hard time figuring out what colors to use and what kind of design to get people to pick it up. I think we were able to create a package that catches people's attention," he said.
Yokan is a bite size 50g, 200 yen (tax included).It is sold at the university's support online shop and convenience stores on campus.The Department of Medical Nutrition has been working on "JOSAI Collagen Yokan" (3 flavors) that focuses on collagen peptides, and this time, "Golden Kabosu Yokan" has been newly added.
