Netizens say goodbye to much-loved snack, “Potato Snack”.
No one could have predicted the response when the announcement came that the company that makes “Potato Snack”, a cheap snack of the kind that children often spend their pocket money on, would stop producing the snacks at the end of July.
Different versions of the story quickly took up the top ranks for the most popular stories on the web in May, as netizens expressed their shock and reminisced about a snack that had been an integral part of their childhood.
From Yahoo! Japan:
Goodbye “Potato Snack”, Classic Children’s Snack: Sales Will Stop At End Of June Due To Steep Rise In Ingredient Costs.
It has been revealed that “Potato Snack”, loved as a classic children’s snack, will stop being sold at the end of June, 2013.
Potato Snack first went on sale in 1988, made from a lightly fried potato batter with flavours like “steak” and “fried chicken”. They were priced cheaply at 30 yen [30 cents] for 4 snacks, and were loved by many children along with “Potato Fries” (manufactured by Toho Seika, first sold in 1980. * Sales currently suspended), which were based on a similar concept.
■ After Being On Sale For 25 Years, Panic As People Rush Out To Convenience Stores…
However, from around April 2013, rumours that sales of Potato Snack would cease began to circulate online through information from small retailers. The information was confirmed by Izumi Seika on May 13, 2013, in an interview with J-CAST news.
“It’s true that we will cease sales. On June 30, we will withdraw from the snack business. There has been a steep rise in the cost of ingredients, and this does not match our profits…”
At this news, there were floods of sad voices on Twitter and other SNS sites from the people who had long loved Potato Snack.
“Thanks for everything, Potato Snack. It would be no exaggeration to say that my body was made by Potato Snacks.
“It’s just too big a shock that Potato Snack will be no more…I’m going to find some…”
“So Potato Snack is really going to disappear? I’m going to buy them up. They’re pretty tasty, too!
Even this reporter went around 3 different convenience stores in the neighbourhood, in search of the last remnants, but perhaps because there were already stock shortages, I couldn’t get my hands on any.
Comments from Yahoo! Japan:
アポロサワー（apo…）さん:
I loved Potato Snack! Pity!
pin**ink*901（pin…）さん:
Makes me sad that all the old snacks we used to eat are going to disappear like this.
きゅうり（fro…）さん:
Because of the cheap yen?
You could even say that they’d absolutely have be among the snacks handed out at Kid’s Club.
And even if I eat them now, they’re so good.
It’s a pity.
fro*_*_to_z*jp（fro…）さん:
Even now, as an old man myself, I get nostalgic and buy them to eat sometimes.
I guess that they couldn’t put the price of snacks up…
It’s a real pity that they’re going to disappear.
au*ses**12（pur…）さん:
Huh?! I love those things, such a pity. They were the snack I ate with beer…I’m going to miss them.
koj**ote（koj…）さん:
I’d even pay 50 yen for them!!
白田光男(仮名)（whi…）さん:
“It would be no exaggeration to say that my body was made by Potato Snacks.”
A snack that is loved this much is truly great.
qggw（fgg…）さん:
This is a pity.
You can enjoy them for 30 yen, and it was so much fun to buy them with your pocket money when you were a kid.
And as far as snacks go, you got quite a bit for your money.
Goodbye.
vidadercolor（lup…）さん:
I’m worried that snacks ceasing sale will spread to other snacks.
nya**ri（nya…）さん:
When I was a kid, if I got 100 yen I’d be like, I’m definitely getting Potato Snacks, Umaibo and Chiroru. Wven when I became an adult, I’d want to eat them from time to time — plus they’re cheap, and just the right amount.
Can’t they put the price up to 50 yen?
Or maybe make big bags of them aimed at adults, but loads in and sell them for 200 yen?
They’d be cheap as far as snacks to eat with beer go, and adults would buy them.
kni**t047*（kni…）さん:
It was a some consultant from Toyota who said that this company was done for.
An old guy who had no idea about the food industry.
Ah…pisses me off!!
shin（aoa…）さん:
This is too shocking…
They were so tasty, too…
Exp.255（bay…）さん:
Damn, I really liked them, there were so many flavours…
It doesn’t matter even if it means that they raise the price a little, or reduce the amount — I want them to go on being sold.
fug*raa*ita*at*02dt（fug…）さん:
Even major potato chip makers have been reducing their amounts for years now.
ttt*ttt*t*fffff**fff*fff*fff*f（ttt…）さん:
If so many adults are buying them, why don’t they raise the price?
I mean, Bikkuriman are twice the price these days.
キビ（y_n…）さん:
They had strong flavouring, but I liked them. This is a pity. I hope that the company starts up again some day.
ver*y*20*（ver…）さん:
Couldn’t they make a profit if they reduced the number in a packet by half?
It’s such a pity…
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIII（hhh…）さん:
I’m going to cry.
二式大艇（emi…）さん:
It’s difficult because cheap snacks don’t contribute much to a company’s earnings, and they make little profit, so Japan’s snack culture is done for.
