Kikkoman is leveraging one of Japan’s most beloved cultural exports – Manga – to convey the unique features of Kikkoman Soy Sauce to the owners of India’s more than 1.5 million restaurants. Apart from owners, chefs, line/junior chefs, cooks, and culinary school students will be encouraged, in classic manga-style, to switch to Kikkoman to give their dishes more robust flavour, marking a creative and engaging approach to marketing in India by this global Japanese company.
Here’s the story of the first episode: Pramod, a chef with exceptional skills, learns he is getting fired from his job after unilaterally changing the restaurant’s menu. Amid all the tension, he coincidentally meets Varun, a restaurant owner-chef who has inherited his father’s restaurant. The two connect through their shared passion for cooking and work together to rebuild the restaurant, transforming it into a popular eatery through the use of the condiment they both swear by – Kikkoman Soy Sauce.
Chef Manjit Gill, President of the Indian Federation of Culinary Associations and Kikkoman India Industry Advisor, enjoyed the story thoroughly and felt a touch of nostalgia.
“I strongly believe that Kikkoman’s message will resonate with many chefs in India. There are said to be more than 200,000 chefs in the organized sector alone,” he said.
“I was fondly reminded of my own younger days – when the hero was trying hard, making all possible efforts to make dishes more delicious – using the best ingredients. I look forward to this story reaching out to a wide audience, making real impact in India. In fact, I’m waiting impatiently for the next episode of this interesting Kikkoman Manga.”
Currently, Kikkoman India is directly engaging with top chain restaurants and large format restaurants, gradually increasing its brand recognition and adoption. However, awareness of Kikkoman among owners and chefs of smaller restaurants, as well as line/junior chefs, and cooks in restaurants, remains relatively low.
The Kikkoman Manga project’s primary aim is to introduce the Kikkoman brand to chefs who are unfamiliar with it, to encourage chefs to consider trying Kikkoman, and to convey that Kikkoman Soy Sauce can also be used in Chinese cuisine.
Kikkoman hopes the use of this compelling form of storytelling will accelerate the move to Kikkoman Soy Sauce becoming a vital ingredient in enhancing taste.
