【海外の反応】「ドバイで日本のスイーツなんて売れるか！」ドバイで日本のスイーツ店が完全撤退…5年後！とんでもないことにw【日本のあれこれ】

What is this? I've never eaten sweets like this before! Good work, everyone. I'm Ayame from Personality. Japanese sweets are highly regarded all over the world. Matcha-type sweets and local sweets are especially popular. In this episode, a woman who lives in Dubai visits Japan and is shocked when she eats Japanese food. After that, this woman is not only interested in Japanese food, but also in Japanese sweets, which are popular in Dubai. Let's take a look. Japanese sweets in Dubai are incredible. My name is Camilla. I'm 25 years old and live in Dubai. I'm working at a restaurant run by my parents in my hometown. I have traveled to Japan with my parents. My parents have always been interested in Japanese food. I wanted to eat at the restaurant, so I invited Camilla to go with me. I was against it. Because I've heard that Japan is not kind to Muslims. We Muslims are limited in what we can eat. In the Islamic law, what is allowed is called halal. What is forbidden is called haram. Including eating habits, clothing, cosmetics, travel, etc. It is an important standard in the life of Islam. And the food that goes with halal is called halal food. What Muslims can't eat is pork. Not only food, but also processed food such as ham, sausage and bacon, pork extract, and fat are also prohibited. Of course, the restaurant I work at offers food that is suitable for the stomach. Not only pork, but also veal, gelatin, and lard, which is pork fat, are not used. Instead, vegetable oil is used. In addition, even if it is meat other than beef, chicken, mutton, etc., it is taboo to eat meat that is not processed in Islamic law. In addition, alcohol is also prohibited in Islam. Not only as a drink, but also as a spice such as cooking wine, mirin, and scented wine. You can't even eat vegetables. You can't even eat licorice, which is in sweets and desserts, so you need to check the ingredients thoroughly. At the restaurant I work at, I try not to put anything that reminds me of alcohol. For example, I consider not to provide glasses to people who do not drink alcohol, so as not to make them anxious. In this way, I thought that Muslims were limited in what they could eat, so I couldn't enjoy it in Japan. Besides, I love the food I can eat in Dubai. Among them, I especially like hummus, a chickpea paste. Hummus is eaten with bread called pita bread, which is similar to thin naan. In addition, I also love desserts such as cream cheese, which is called kunafa, and is eaten with a lot of honey. I told my parents honestly that I don't need to go to Japan when I can eat such delicious food in Dubai. But in the end, my parents persuaded me, and I had no choice but to travel to Japan. However, when I went there, I was shocked. At first, when we arrived at Narita Airport, my family didn't know where the exit was, so we got lost. Then, the staff at the airport talked to us, and asked us in English if we had any problems. It was our first trip to Japan, so we were confused, but we were very impressed by the kindness and kind treatment of the staff. Thanks to the staff who guided us to the exit, we were able to leave the airport safely and go to the hotel. In addition, during our subsequent trips, we had many opportunities to feel the kindness of the Japanese. For example, when we got lost on the way to a tourist attraction, a Japanese man who was walking nearby called out to us. He said, I want to go all the way to Narita, but I don't know how to get there. When I used a translator, he spread out the map and guided me. I didn't think the Japanese were so kind. Then I was impressed by Japanese food in Japan. I thought there was no food that Muslims could eat, but when I looked it up, I was surprised by something. First of all, we went to a ramen shop in Harare. Ramen was a dish that my parents wanted to eat for a long time, and I was very excited. When we ordered, hot ramen was brought in a few minutes later. At that moment, the smell of noodles and soup inspired my appetite, and I got more and more excited. And I was surprised when I took a bite. The soup has a rich umami and a deep flavor, and the noodles are chewy and delicious. When I asked the owner later, he said that the taste of Harare ramen that Japanese people eat is almost the same. Before traveling, I thought I couldn't enjoy it in Japan. But that was wrong. I got to know kind Japanese people, ate Japanese food, and fell in love with Japan. Since then, I've been going to Japanese restaurants in Dubai. I especially like tempura. Crispy batter and plump shrimp and squid tempura were delicious with a taste I've never had before. Especially with sweet sauce, it's perfect. The sushi I ate for the first time was surprisingly delicious. At Japanese restaurants in Dubai, there are various types of sushi, such as nigiri sushi, kamaboko, and tobikko. I ordered a sushi set. The first thing I tried was avocado and salmon roll sushi. The avocado and salmon were creamy, and I was impressed by its exquisite taste. Of course, I also ate ramen that I ate in Japan. Ramen seems to have appeared in Dubai early in Japanese food, but it seems that ramen specialty stores are increasing recently. When I entered the store, the Japanese display was overflowing, and I could feel the atmosphere as if I were in a ramen shop in Japan. The taste was delicious as I ate it in Japan. I was completely addicted to Japanese food, so I decided to look into Japanese food that is popular in Dubai. Then I realized that various foods are popular in Dubai just because I didn't know because I wasn't interested until now. One of them is Anpokaki. Anpokaki is a type of Japanese dried persimmon. Due to its unique taste and excellent nutritional value, Anpokaki is popular in Dubai. Anpokaki, which is known for its beautiful orange color and being used in various dishes, is lined up in supermarkets. My friend said that he liked Anpokaki, which was a familiar taste and nutritious. Anpokaki tastes like dates and Ichijiku. In addition, Anpokaki, which is rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, is said to promote digestion, improve eyesight, improve heart function, and also prevent diabetes and cancer, etc. Also, it is said that it contains youthful ingredients in the skin, so I will eat it right away. In addition, a Japanese bakery, Yamanote, has become a big boom in Dubai. The owner of this bakery, who felt that he could not forget the taste of bread he ate in Japan, opened it in 2013 under the guidance of a Japanese bakery. It is the first time that a Japanese baker has been employed, and there are a variety of breads lined up in the glass case of the shop. The yakisoba bread is especially popular. I immediately went and ate the yakisoba bread. Inside the bread, there were stir-fried noodles, various kinds of vegetables, fragrant herbs, and a lot of spices. When I took a bite, the noodles had a firm texture, and the combination with the vegetables was exquisite. In addition, the yakisoba sauce uses dates, a specialty of the Middle East, so it was a familiar taste. In addition, sweets in Japan are very popular in Dubai. That's Yokmok. Yokmok is a company that develops many stores not only in Japan but also overseas. Yokmok went to Dubai in 2012 and opened a store in Dubai Mall, the largest mall in the world. Since then, the number of stores of the Yokmok brand in Dubai has increased one after another, and it seems that it increased to 11 stores in 2014. Combining UAE, Berlin, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, it has expanded to 29 stores. When I looked it up, I found several reasons why Yokmok became popular in Dubai. One of them is that many people in Dubai, especially Muslims, prefer sweet sweets because they don't drink alcohol. In addition, there is a reason why Yokmok became popular in the Dubai climate. In Dubai, where the temperature and humidity are high throughout the year, there is a tendency to prefer sweet foods that are good for preservation. In Dubai, when it comes to desserts that have been popular for a long time, it is sweet sweets coated with dried nuts and sugar. It is Yokmok that blew a new wind there. And the number one reason why Yokmok became popular is the tea party. It is said that the simple-tasting sweets in the shape of a hammock called Shigal became a must-have item for Muslims who should not drink alcohol. At the tea party, people who like new things called for a mouth-to-mouth meeting and became popular with people in Dubai. My friend said, I have never eaten such delicious sweets. However, Yokmok, which became popular in Dubai, also had a voice of dissatisfaction. That's the price. Even the rich Dubai people could not buy it often. Certainly, Japanese food and sweets sold in supermarkets and shopping malls are quite expensive, so I have never heard of eating them often. And when I looked into it in detail, I found that there was also a management problem. Yokmok was originally planning to expand to about 30 stores in a short period of time, including Qatar and Oman, not only UAE. However, this rapid development resulted in a situation where Yokmok's control did not work. For this reason, there was also a distortion in the store management at the site, and a situation where the brand image was damaged occurred one after another. In line with the expansion route, the image that Yokmok's signboard products in the Middle East are widely sold was the only thing that stood alone, and there was a gap between the recognition of the world and the internal situation. Originally, Yokmok was a sweets shop, but in Dubai, it has been a gift-based business. That's because I thought that the mission of the company was to connect people with people as a gift of sweets. I want to connect people with delicious sweets and create smiles. That tool is Yokmok's sweets, and that is the motto. Each store has its own mission and motto, and in order to make overseas stores understand it carefully and penetrate it, you have to take your time. However, Yokmok's expansion route is only for increasing sales, and it seems that it has become in a state where it cannot be said that there is room to penetrate the mission. With the expansion route, it is difficult to maintain the brand value in a situation that cannot be controlled by the Japanese side. What Yokmok values is its sense of value. Because it is a branding, it was finally withdrawn with the completion of the five-year contract period. When all the stores withdrew, the Middle Eastern people were very sad. Why did you withdraw? Was there a problem? It seems that they talked about many questions and posted them on SNS. However, after that, Yokmok re-emerged in 2022 after five years. Because it was developed in the Middle East once, Yokmok's popularity is moderate in the Middle East, but in order to get to know the product again, it seems that it has been re-emerged while taking good care of the branding. When I went to Dubai last time, I thought that Yokmok had the potential and market because it was accepted locally because of the culture of increasing gifts and opportunities. That's why I was confident that I could land again if I could build up the local operation of what I withdrew once. A few years ago, there were many customers who ordered a set of dozens of sweets on a large plate. Compared to that, it is compact in a new store, but it is sold politely. Also, Yokmok in Dubai seems to be devising a way of selling by incorporating advice from local agencies and specializing in broadcasting and developing products that fit the location. For example, on the anniversary of the founding of UAE, local suggestions such as UAE and national colors are loved in the Middle East countries. It seems that they are taking a selling method that is conscious of the country such as broadcasting the boxed sweets in three colors, which is the color of the UAE flag. In addition, it seems that the cafe space has been arranged in the store as it has changed significantly since before. It's good because you can enjoy the taste of Yokmok and enjoy the world view by making a profit. In fact, the cafe arrangement in the store is also effective in sales. By eating sweets at the cafe and bargaining, regular customers and communities are created, and the interest in the product leads to the next sale opportunity that the sweets look delicious. I also decided to go to the Yokmok store. When I actually went to the store with my parents, of course, there was a large gift set for the founding of UAE, such as a wedding celebration and a birth celebration, but besides that, the sweets were neatly arranged one by one, and I got a polite impression. And I bought some sweets and ate them in the cafe space. Then the flavor of butter spread in my mouth, and I enjoyed the crispy texture of the cookies. The chocolate coating brings out the sweetness, and the moment you put it in your mouth, you feel happy. It was so delicious that I didn't get tired of eating it. Then I bought a lot of sweets to buy for my friends and eat by myself. The price is a little high, but I want to taste each one and eat it. In addition, I heard that the pure-tasting sweets using Kyoto's Kuradashi Uji Matcha will be on sale. When I ate matcha sweets in Japan, the flavor of matcha spread richly, and I remember that it was refreshing and delicious, so I'm looking forward to Yokmok's matcha sweets. The slightly bitter sweetness of matcha is very popular in Dubai. I think that Yokmok and various Japanese dishes will be popular in Dubai from now on. I want to eat a lot of Japanese food from now on. And I have a hungry dish, and I love Japanese people who are kind to foreigners. So I want to travel to Japan again someday. Foreign Reaction Once I went on a business trip to Japan, and when I returned to the United States, I left a souvenir of various types of Japanese sweets in my office. Then I was surprised that it disappeared in no time in less than a day. I like Alfort. But I was surprised because I just said that it was delicious when my Japanese friends ate it before. I thought it was the most delicious of all the food I've ever eaten, but it's a taste that Japanese people have eaten for a long time. At this time, I thought it would be nice if I was born Japanese. When a Japanese exchange student came to my house for a home stay, he brought me a souvenir of Nagoya's Nagoyan. I and my parents were captivated by the deliciousness of Nagoyan, and I remembered that it disappeared in an instant. We asked the exchange student to eat more, and he sent it all the way from Japan. Nagoyan is perfect for black tea and delicious. In the past, Japanese sweets were only sold at Japanese supermarkets, right? But now, sweets are sold anywhere, such as ordinary supermarkets and convenience stores. It means that Japanese sweets are accepted that much. I'm a big fan of Japanese sweets, Karinto. Karinto is a sweet coated with brown sugar by frying flour dough in oil. It's crispy, sweet and delicious. Not only that, it's cheap and sold anywhere. Summary You can see that the Japanese sweets we usually eat are popular all over the world. In addition to the sweets and dishes introduced this time, Jagariko, Kit Kat, and Kaju Gumi are also popular with foreigners. In addition, some people come to Japan to buy Japanese matcha and Japanese-only sweets, so I'm surprised. I hope that the wonderfulness of Japanese sweets will spread all over the world in the future. How was it? I would be happy if you could tell me your impressions in the comments. Please also like and subscribe to the channel. Thank you for watching until the end. See you in the next video.