Since the surge in rice prices, prepared food sections have increasingly introduced noodle- and bread- based menu items as alternatives to rice dishes, accelerating efforts to reduce rice usage. Wholesalers and manufacturers are also focusing on proposals to support this trend.
Ahjikan (Hiroshima City), a company specializing in B to B food products, has been offering prepared food sets combining its mainstay egg products with seasonings, enabling dishes such as Chinese-style rice bowls with soft-boiled egg and omelets with rice. Recently, the company has expanded these sets by adding frozen fried rice and yakisoba from frozen food makers. The company explained, “As securing rice becomes more difficult, including frozen rice dishes in the sets reduces cooking preparation time and also helps mitigate the labor shortages at retail sites.”
The company is also promoting the spread of Makizushi (sushi rolls), turning fillings into a product series called “Maki Shin (sushi filling stick).” In light of moves to reevaluate rice-based menus, Ahjikan has adapted the Maki Shin for use not in Makizushi but as burger fillings. Suggested items include the “Chunky Shrimp Cutlet Burger,” made from shrimp cutlet filling stick.
At an exhibition held in Osaka in July, Itochu Shokuhin spotlighted bread, noodles, and flour-based dishes as three staple foods to substitute for rice in prepared food sections. Among these, the focus on noodles featured local specialty ramen varieties.
Daitoku Shokuhin (Yamatokoriyama City, Nara Prefecture), which manufactures the products, emphasizes, “Local specialty noodles are popular in convenience stores but still limited in supermarkets. Because there are so many types, changing product assortments also allows creating a sense of novelty in the sales area.” The company offers 15 types of local specialty noodles nationwide. While most noodle products for prepared food sections have a shelf life of D+2, the company’s products extend to D+3, helping reduce the workload at stores.
Nakamura Kaku (Hiroshima City), a food wholesaler, is promoting noodle menu items for prepared food sections using noodles that can be thawed under running water combined with steam convection cooking. By leveraging the ease of preparation and resistance to quality deterioration over time, the company proposes original menu items using its B to B sauces and seasonings.
The company’s representative adds, “They can be used not only in summer but also in autumn and winter. As the shift from rice to noodles strengthens, interest continues to grow.”
