Marutai Co., Ltd. is a Kyushu-based food manufacturer that is a pioneer in instant noodles, offering delicious, high-quality, and attractive products.
Based on the company philosophy of "contributing to the creation of a rich food culture through the development, manufacturing, and sale of instant noodles," the company offers highly appealing products using its unique, traditional production system.
Marutai is so well known and recognized that when you think of Marutai, you think of stick ramen, and when you think of stick ramen, you think of Marutai. In particular, their signature product, Marutai Ramen, has received great support from consumers across the country.
This time, we spoke with Nakazono from the Marketing Department of Marutai Co., Ltd., and external designers Hirata and Murayama, who were in charge of the design, about the production of "Yama no Bo Ramen," which uses Packaging "Kurokane "Usage designed by Osaki Zenji on the entire packaging, as well as other Packaging designs.
Commitment to Marutai products
It goes without saying that we strictly adhere to the "provide safe and secure products" imposed on food manufacturers, and as a Kyushu company, we will continue to offer a variety of products that focus on Kyushu. I will.
Each department is assigned its own role, such as procuring raw materials, selecting tastes, examining shapes, and selecting designs in line with product planning based on trends and market research. It takes at least half a year to one year to develop our new product, and we will repeat trial and error many times, especially when selecting the taste, and revise until we are satisfied.
We mainly sell new products in spring and autumn, so by setting up a schedule so that planned products can be properly released and announced, and by regularly holding meetings with sales personnel, We are making it possible to deliver the enjoyment of food to the dining table.
About the Packaging design of multi-product
In the product development flow, I'm deeply involved in product planning and design selection as a marketing department. After a long period of product development for "men," "soup," "kayaku," and "seasoning oil," product Packaging will begin. When the products are lined up at the store, the product Packaging that first touches the eyes of the consumer is not only conspicuous and has an impact at the store, but we also use products that match the image and concept of the product. I will.
The Packaging design will be brushed up through discussions based on what the designer will create by giving a concrete image from here and the ideas that we have received as suggestions.
In particular, our products, ramen and udon noodles, are cooked by the consumers themselves, so we are paying even more attention to the Packaging photos so that they can be used as a reference for cooking. In order to post pictures that look colorful and look delicious, our staff will be present at the time of shooting to instruct the photographer directly.
In addition, on the back side, there is an important information posting place where raw material notation etc. as specified by law are posted, so several persons in charge repeatedly make detailed checks to see if there are any typographical errors or violations of the regulations. I am. Regarding layout, we also try to use fonts and sizes that are easy to see and understand for everyone, while maintaining the originality while maintaining the legal regulations regarding food labeling.
Developed as a ramen suitable for outdoors
This "Yama no Bar Ramen" was developed as a product suitable for mountain climbing and outdoor activities. Originally, our long-selling product "Marutai Ramen" has often been featured in outdoor magazines, and it is said that it is convenient to carry because of its compact form. "Always bring" Marutai Ramen "to mountain climbing". We received a lot of voices like that, which was a direct impetus. If it! With the emphasis on stamina supply and physical strength Support rather than ordinary ramen, we have also started to develop products featuring eco-packaging.
Fresh and eye-catching Packaging
The Packaging features a dragon, which is the motif of "Multai Ramen," and has a more powerful and dynamic design. In addition, from the point of view of products suitable for mountain climbing, we were particular about details such as equipping a mountain climbing item such as a headlamp on the dragon, a backpack on the back, ice ax on the hands, mountaineering shoes on the feet. The design is finished.
The typeface used for the Packaging of "Yama no Stick Ramen" has a clear assertion that is different from Gothic or Mincho typeface, yet it has a somewhat round and gentle image. The reason why it was adopted was that it was exactly applied to the brand image of our stick ramen and the image concept of the product that is eco-friendly eco packaging. We have never seen a Packaging using such a typeface among our products, so it will be fresh and eye-catching.Thanks to consumers who actually bought it or saw it in the store. Also, we are aware of our commitment and we have received praise. (Mr. Nakazono)
About the font "Kurokane" from a designer's perspective
When Marutai first approached us with a design request, they said they wanted to make a ramen that was suitable for outdoor activities, such as hiking. So we decided to use the same Packaging format for their stick ramen, which has already been praised by consumers as being ideal for the outdoors, and we started by proposing Packaging design.
Apart from the currently used Packaging, we had also proposed Packaging design using thick Ming style horizontal lines and a cooking photo, but for this "Mountain Stick Ramen", keywords such as "Mountain Girl" had come up during the planning stage, so we went for a design that expressed an image of "strong but soft and cute" rather than the "strong and masculine" image that mountain climbing has.
Therefore, rather than posting cooking photos, we decided to highlight the cuteness of the illustrated dragon motif. For the title of Packaging, which expresses the inherent strength of the dragon and the cuteness of the illustration, we wanted to use a font that was as original as possible, taking into consideration the concept of the product. So, the font that immediately came to mind was "Kurokane" by Fontworks, which is both powerful and somehow cute.
In the end, Packaging design was finished using "Kurokane" almost entirely, not only for the title, but also for the recipe text on the back. I think this type of use is rare, but it's a playful yet fairly legible typeface, so I thought it would be easy to use and fit in both horizontal and vertical text. It has a different feel to the cute typefaces "Seurat" and "PopHappiness," so it feels new and nice.
The image we wanted to express was already decided, so there were few major changes during the production process. In addition to the climbing equipment held by the dragon, we used the aluminum base of Packaging material to give the sun a glossy shine, and expressed the image of sunrise and sunset with two different flavors. Our client, Marutai, highly praised us for our ingenuity in the design in various areas.
Both individuality and visibility are important
It's common for Advertisement and Packaging to use unique typefaces in the title section, such as "Kurokane," which we used as the main font this time. Not only is it distinctive, but visibility has also become a requirement in recent times, so I hope that there will be more bold weights, such as "Pearl" and "Budo," which are cute but not too assertive, so that they can be used in titles. Also, and this is a request for more weights, it would be good if "TsukuOldMin" had a bolder weight! Rather than using a font that is thicker on its own, it is easier to use a font that has been adjusted to create optical illusions. (Hirata and Murayama)
<Editor's Note>
The opportunity to introduce "Yama no Bo Ramen" this time came when I saw it being featured on a TV special on outdoor activities. When I saw that "Kurokane" was used prominently on the front of the Packaging, I thought that I really wanted to introduce it, so I requested an interview. I feel that by receiving feedback on "Kurokane" not only from the designers but also from Marutai, the manufacturer, I was able to convey even more about the atmosphere of the typeface. I will continue to strive to widely introduce "LETS" and its typefaces.
Company Info
| Company name | Marutai Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| location | 3-23-42 Shusenji Temple, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture |
| TEL | 092-807-0711 |
| Fax | 092-807-0716 |
| URL | http://www.marutai.co.jp/ |
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