Standing at one of the many confusing exits at downtown Tokyo’s Shinjuku station, salary men, and more importantly salary women, rush past with hardly a second glance at the slightly lost foreigner waiting at the wrong exit.

This hectic pace of life is impacting on their spending behaviour and is a well-known formula governing the packaging supply chain.

It goes like this: with more salary-women (or office ladies – OLs as they’re known in Japan) the family shopping expedition is reduced to a mad dash to the convenience store, which means the role of the package in promoting and preserving food becomes a vital part of the product lifecycle rather than serving as a humble product container.

The development of vacuum packs, aseptic packs, high barrier and oxygen scavenging packs have all been a response to the brand owner’s demand for greater shelf life and presence. Rarely, however, does one come across a pack which actually pre-empts the formulaic demand drivers in this industry and creates demand in a market which did not exist. However, as one of Japan’s largest container makers, Toyo Seikan has done just that with the development of the ERP, the quirkily named Electronic oven available Retortable Pouch.

It’s actually a retortable pouch that enables curry sauces, pre-cooked rice and (presumably) roast beef in gravy to be taken straight from the supermarket shelf and microwaved in the bag - for salary men and women who have no time to cook.

Ahead of the pack
With net sales in excess of Y6,670 million (US$58 million) and more than 12,000 staff, the Toyo Seikan Group comprises seven core divisions: canmaking, plastics, glass, laminated paper cups, aerosols, closures and food processing equipment.

The plastics division, Toyo Seikan Kaisha, contributes more than half or the corporation’s total sales. It is primarily in the beverage packaging business with more than 67 per cent of sales, while food packaging contributes 19 per cent.

Toyo Seikan Kaisha maintains a highly sophisticated research and development programme to keep ahead of the pack and maintain its position as market leader.

It is an R&D programme which Hiroto Watanabe, general manager, general plastic container development, is justifiably proud: We take a holistic view of package design. It is a combination of pure science, market knowledge and cost accounting with just an occasional dash of inspiration.

We take a holistic view of package design. It is a combination of pure science, market knowledge and cost accounting with just an occasional dash of inspiration.

It is an ingenious system that uses the microwave to heat and cook the contents under high pressure. By building in a controlled point of rupture, steam is expelled to prevent pressure build up.

Once the microwave’s timed cooking cycle is over, the pouch can be removed and cut open with no danger of scalding the user, and with the pressure removed the bag reverts to its previously limp state which is safe to open.

Available either as a flat pack or stand up pouch, Toyo Seikan’s ERP has already found commercial application and market acceptance in Japan, in products such as cooked rice, a variety of soups and sauces, and specialty cuisine packs, such as Korean dishes, demonstrating that with today’s pressurised urban lifestyles the package can be the demand generator for the product.