By TAKASHI AZUMA/ Staff Writer
October 15, 2022 at 07:00 JST
Bags of corn snacks containing cricket powder line the shelves at the FamilyMart Tomidabashi 1-chome outlet in Tokushima, the capital of Tokushima Prefecture, on Sept. 21. (Takashi Azuma)
TOKUSHIMA--A new snack with edible cricket powder available at all FamilyMart Co. convenience store chains in Tokushima Prefecture could soon be jumping off the shelves.
Gryllus Inc., a startup with origins at Tokushima University, created “C. Tria Corn Snacks,” a new product containing the powder. The firm is preselling it at the 85 convenience stores in the prefecture.
The company, based in Naruto in the prefecture, has been working to breed, process and market edible crickets.
The lineup of shops and geographical areas where the snack is available will be gradually expanded in the coming months, company officials said.
Gryllus is using the brand name C. Tria.
The new product, which contains pulverized two-spotted crickets that were bred in Japan, features the aroma of the powder and a crunchy texture. There are two flavors: “uma-shio” (salt with umami flavorings) and “takoyaki” (octopus dumplings).
Both options are 98 yen (68 cents), including tax, per 10-gram bag.
The “C. Tria Cookie (large)” and the “C. Tria Protein Bar,” which have already been put on the market on a limited basis in the greater Tokyo area and in Hokkaido, were also released for sale at the outlets in Tokushima Prefecture.
To commemorate the new product, Gryllus on Sept. 21 set up a pop-up food truck at the FamilyMart Tomidabashi 1-chome outlet in the prefectural capital to sell french fries containing cricket powder.
“I didn’t feel put off when I ate (the fries) because (the cricket powder) tastes a lot like spices do,” said an office worker in his 40s, who bought the snack in the shop and also ate the french fries. “The more powder they are sprinkled with, the better they taste.”
“We are very happy, as officials of a company based in Tokushima Prefecture, to be marketing our products across all areas of the prefecture, whereas we used to market our products mostly only online before,” a Gryllus representative said.
The company is warning people with shellfish allergies to not eat its products because cricket powder contains ingredients that resemble those found in crustaceans.
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