It looks like a giant Curly, tucked into a shiny, colorful wrapper.
The umaibo, a small stick of popcorn, very popular in Japan, was distinguished until then by the astonishing stability of its price: 10 yen, or about 7.7 euro cents.
The label had not moved since 1979 on the shelves. But the manufacturers have just announced the end of these 43 years of immutably constant prices. The umaibo will now be displayed at 12 yen, or just over 9 euro cents. "This is the first increase since it was marketed," confirms Takeshi Nemoto, inventory manager at the Kawahara Shoten store in Tokyo.
"The increase of two yen is huge," says Noriko Eda, a customer of the small store.
Naomi Hosaka, another customer, also regrets this inflation: “I never imagined that it would affect inexpensive snacks.
It is something that children can buy easily.
So I'm a little sad and surprised."
"There is nothing we can do [against this price increase], slips Takeshi Nemoto, for the manufacturer, it was difficult to continue to make a profit without this increase".
In Japan, the decline of the yen against the dollar makes imports more expensive.
Raw materials are also becoming more and more expensive.
Many manufacturers are under pressure and need to raise their prices.
To avoid a price increase that was too sudden for consumers, many brands preferred to reduce the size of their products, while maintaining a constant price.
A phenomenon called "shrinkflation" or "reduflation".