This is something I've been noticing for a while now in Japanese products imported to the UK, where you have a £5-6 collectible product related to some anime, with all the packaging clearly relating to that collectible item, but then you open it and in addition to the item, there's a little piece of food. The one I got today was the strangest by far, prompting the question: this thing. In every way, a product centered around the keychain, but I open it, pull out the keychain, and a single piece of chewing gum falls out with it, which I initially assume is an accessory for the keychain. There's only a small indication on a corner of the back of the box that it includes gum, and it was just unceremoniously added to the box as if an afterthought.
Is this a tax thing or something? I've encountered it often enough for it to seem like a pattern.
by -Karakui
4 comments
These toys contain food because they’re sold in the kid’s candy section of the supermarket. They even get discounted in price later because of expire dates for the gum or candy.
https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/15×7661/the_stale_hard_broken_gum_that_came_with_trading/
Every single facet of Japanese life is centred around eating so this is no different.
What do you think Kinder Surprise is? In the end gacha and similar sales mechanics work, and the candy lets you sell it as such. You’ll even see glasses and cups sold sometimes with a small plastic container of jelly on top as the excuse to sell it as a food product.