New Year Celebration Twice? The Challenge of Ichida Gaki

The Iidashimoina region of southern Nagano Prefecture is one of the most prominent districts for dried persimmon production in Japan. The local product Ichida Gaki is a popular, lucky New Year delicacy, but the demand declines sharply after the New Year season. So, the local JA Group, the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives, targeted the Lunar New Year in other parts of Asia to promote the product as a gift to increase consumption. Starting from Taiwan, they succeeded in increasing exports during the Lunar New Year in Asia. Now they are expanding to another potential new market, Vietnam, with the lively Lunar New Year known as “Tet.” To protect the brand of Ichida Gaki, they register the name as a Geographical Indication (GI). As a result, they were able to revitalize the community and establish a production system by setting up additional processing facilities. We follow the journey of a local organization trying to promote its product by focusing on different peak seasons overseas.

English Subtitles (Released on November 28, 2019)