The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun
Sanuki udon sets sights on United States
TAKAMATSU — A little corner of Shikoku once known as Sanuki Province is hoping its top food item creates a boom around the world and draws visitors as well. e Kagawa prefectural government plans to market frozen Sanuki udon products in the United States from this spring. A er a trial sale of these items, the plan is to distribute them to supermarkets across the United States in 2025.
at year, the Osaka-Kansai Expo will be held, and the prefecture now aims to promote its local udon overseas in tandem. It will also be 55 years since the 1970 Osaka Expo, where sushi chain Kyotaru is believed to have o ered udon from Kagawa Prefecture. e udon won rave reviews domestically and later became available nationwide.
As Kagawa is not far from the 2025 expo site, the prefecture also hopes that foreign visitors to the world exposition might travel to the home of Sanuki udon.
e Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Ministry approved the prefecture’s application for subsidies to promote food exports, making this overseas expansion of Sanuki udon possible. is is the rst time that udon has been given subsidies through this program.
e products to be sold were selected from two noodle manufacturers in the prefecture that have already acquired food export licenses for the United States: a cup-packaged instant udon product made by Atton in Takamatsu and an instant packaged product called Sanuki Cra Udon by Usuya in Shodoshima. Both products separate the frozen dashi, noodles and a topping such as mixed vegetable tempura.
“e food service industry was forced into a di cult situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Atton President Todoroki Kambara. “We want to boost demand in the post-pandemic world by having udon hit the global stage.”
e cup udon can be eaten by heating it in a microwave, while the packaged udon is ready to consume a er heating the contents in a saucepan.
To sell Sanuki udon in the United States, some ingenuity was used for the dashi soup stock. U.S. consumers reportedly don’t favor the aromas of the dashi made from dried baby sardines usual to Sanuki udon in Japan. Thus, soy sauce and mirin flavors have been augmented to lessen the fishy smell.
As frozen foods and other ready-toeat
products are popular in the United States, it is hoped these Sanuki udon products will be readily accepted as well.
For sales promotion in the United States, the prefecture is commissioning Wismettac Foods, Inc., a Tokyo-based trading company.
“Udon is similar to spaghetti as well as highly familiar to Westerners,” said an o cial of Wismettac Foods. “e taste has been changed from that of udon in Japan, and the word ‘udon’ has a nice ring to it that is easy to remember.”
According to the Japan External Trade Organization, the number of Japanese restaurants in the United States serving udon has increased in recent years, raising udon’s pro le. In the United States, udon is seen as a food item consumed at restaurants and other eateries, as the process of making dashi and other steps is time-consuming.
e average U.S. person spent $7,795 on food in 2020, of which dining out accounted for 31% while eating at home made up 63%. e data suggests the potential for upbeat frozen udon sales.
“Sanuki udon’s texture can’t be experienced in any other food product,” a JETRO o cial said. “As these products also can be eaten simply by being heated in a microwave, we can expect some demand.”
e plan is to begin trial sales of these Sanuki udon products this year at supermarkets and in restaurants frequented by Japanese residents in the United States in cities such as Los Angeles and New York. A er that, Kagawa Prefecture will aim to expand sales across the United States in 2025 following negotiations with supermarkets there.
“We want to create an udon boom in the United States and then around the world,” an o cial of the prefectural government said. (Jan. 23)