Crowdsourcing Instant Noodle & Beverage Flavors in Japan

Cscout Japan points us to a great use of crowdsourcing to come up with new flavors for ramen noodles and fruit drinks in Japan. Recognizing the large community of ramen eaters online, the instant noodle company Acebook, has been collaborating with Japan’s largest social networking site Mixi to crowdsource new flavors and marketing slogans to go along with them. Over 4000 users voted for the following winning flavors that will be debuted in December: Collagen noodles, Milk Tantanmen, Bacon, egg, and vegetables and Ginseng Chicken.

In the beverage world, Calpis has adopted a similar strategy, crowdsourcing flavor combinations from Mixi users for their fruit Caplis series. The collaboration included not only the flavor combinations, but also the packaging design and advertising copy. The winning entry for mixed fruit was a blend of apple, pear, mandarin orange, and banana.

Both crowdsourcing activities represent great examples of how brands can find inspiration for new products, as well as make a long-lasting personal connection to consumers by engaging them in the decision-making process