Experience-Driven Showcase [3]Using "Okashinovation," recreating a 50-year-old confection
As it approached its 50th anniversary in 2014, the company launched a reissue version and achieved great success by developing innovative ways to showcase it! This time, Kenji Ozaki from Dentsu Inc., who handled the spatial development and events for this project, reports on the project's outline.
Edited and Compiled by: Aki Kanahara, Dentsu Inc. Event & Space Design Bureau
It all began with the "Okashinnovation Project"!
It all started about four years ago. My senior at Dentsu Inc., Creative Director Hidetoshi Kurashige, created the "New Domain Department Collaboration Consortium," or "Shinkon" for short. It was an open innovation study group where new business divisions from various companies, startups, NPOs, and others could participate by invitation.
Miki Kanemaru from Morinaga & Co.'s New Domain Creation Division joined this group, which became the catalyst for launching the project.
Its name: the "Okashinnovation Project."
It was launched with the goal of discovering added value in confectionery and enabling greater contributions to society through sweets, asking: Can we spark more innovation with confectionery?
From planning to completion, there were no formal presentations. Everyone discussed things on a flat, equal footing. If they got stuck, members would introduce each other to people who shared the same passion and seemed capable of solving the problem, gradually expanding the project team. This approach is also the secret behind ensuring high creativity and speedy production.
The first project, the "Weird Free Research Series," served as a trial for the "Candy-Powered Education Revolution" concept: "Can candy boost (human) creativity?"
In 2013, the theme was "Space." With the participation of volunteer JAXA staff, we developed a kit that lets kids learn about space independently while eating sweets, released in July 2014.
The meticulously crafted, playful product line—including snacks like Chocolate Balls representing Earth to create a 1-billionth-scale universe—proved wildly popular at workshops held after completion.
Creating a Hi-CROWN 50th Anniversary Reprint Edition
I was invited to join this project about two months later, at the end of September. It was the second phase of the project, the "Hi-CROWN Reissue Release." The plan was to set up a limited-time store at Tokyo Station.
About 100 years ago, Morinaga & Co., the first company in Japan to manufacture chocolate entirely from cacao beans, popularized chocolate in Japan, making it an everyday treat for consumers. Then, as their next bold move 50 years ago, they created "Hi-CROWN" – a "grown-up chocolate" that children aspired to enjoy. It's no exaggeration to say that Hi-CROWN is the origin point for many of today's pastry chefs and chocolatiers. This project aimed to reimagine that original form using the latest technology.
The discovery that Taichiro Morinaga, the founder of Morinaga & Co., and Kingo Tatsuno, who designed Tokyo Station, were both from Saga Prefecture suddenly made the collaboration "New Hi-CROWN × Tokyo Station 100th Anniversary × Saga Arita Ware" a reality. Production is now underway for the renewed Hi-CROWN's Arita ware packaging featuring the Tokyo Station building!
From late October 2014, we visited Tokyo Station's retail spaces multiple times to contemplate what kind of shop space would be fitting for the new Hi-CROWN. We concluded that instead of using Tokyo Station's existing fixtures, we should create fixtures that embody Morinaga's identity.
The four fixtures, created by the entire project team including designer Hiroshi Komiyama, were designed to evoke the handcart used by Taichiro Morinaga himself for business purposes at the time. Their combined size of four units totals 2 tsubo (approx. 6.6 sq.m), matching the size of Morinaga's first chocolate factory. The shop was named "Hi-CROWN 2Tsubo Shop." It achieved sales far exceeding initial targets and concluded in early December to great success.
Mitsukoshi Isetan, Ginza Matsuya, and Beyond!
The Hi-CROWN revival continues, with confirmed appearances at the Salon du Chocolat hosted by Mitsukoshi Isetan in late January 2015 and a limited-time pop-up at Matsuya Ginza in late March.
For the Salon du Chocolat, colorful special packaging was created. The packaging, representing Hi-CROWN's eight flavors, was also utilized in the display design. At Matsuya Ginza, a cherry blossom-colored Hi-CROWN special package was produced, creating a space design centered on white and pink to match the cherry blossom season.
For me, it was truly enjoyable work to run this project alongside the product development initiative. I sincerely hope we can tackle the next phase.
Next time, we'll have a three-way discussion with Miki Kanemaru from Morinaga & Co., Hidetoshi Kurashige from Dentsu Inc. (leader of the 'New Con' initiative), and myself.
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Author
Kenji Ozaki
Dentsu Inc.
After joining Dentsu Inc., I focused on experience-driven communication, business development, and space creation. I specialize in planning grounded in a continuous perspective and operational thinking. I've received awards including the Cannes Lions, Spikes Asia, and the Good Design Award. I'm a dad who spends every day trying to get my three-and-a-half-year-old daughter to notice me, even though she's already looking the other way.
