Starting from HOTEL RESOL TRINITY SAPPORO, it is about 7 minutes from Odori subway station. The Shiroishi area, conveniently located near the center of the city, is close to the Toyohira River, which has given the city many benefits.

As the area has access to high-quality water, it has a long history of being home to soy sauce brewers, tofu makers, dye shops, and other companies for whom water is essential. One of these, Ikeda Foods Co., Ltd., is a long-established, locally rooted store selling creative bean snacks that has built up a long history here.

Sapporo's seasonal event "Setsubun Festival"

Speaking of "Ikeda Foods," many Sapporo residents are surely familiar with the "Ikeda Setsubun Festival," which has been held once a year since 2003 (Heisei 15) to coincide with Setsubun.

"I want to convey Japan's Setsubun culture through interactions with local people."

With this in mind, the bean-throwing event at the Shiroishi main store, with all staff dressed up as demons, attracts many locals, mainly families with children, and has become a Sapporo tradition that marks the beginning of spring.

We spoke with Okubo Ran, who was born and raised in Shiroishi Ward, worked for a design and advertising production company, and is currently the section manager of the planning and public relations department at Ikeda Foods.

"I like Ikeda's products and sometimes give them as gifts to my friends, who all say they are delicious. There are many different types and flavors, including nuts, beans, and karinto, so I think people of all ages can enjoy them," says Okubo. We spoke to him about the company's history, the values he holds dear, and his commitment to detail.

From being a "dealing company" to being a "making company"

The roots of "Ikeda Foods" lie in "Ikeda Seika," a long-established confectionery manufacturer in Otaru. The company was established in 1948 (Showa 23) as a branch of the company, located near the current JR Sapporo Station. After later relocating to the Susukino area, the company moved to Shiroishi Ward in search of higher quality water.

When the company was first established, it was a dried food store dealing in peanuts, shiitake mushrooms, etc. under the name "Matsuya Ikeda Shoten Ltd." The following year, it switched to manufacturing. Among the products it handled, it started producing butter peanuts, which are particularly valuable and highly nutritious, and has steadily progressed from a "dealer" to a "manufacturer."

Choosing the path of challenge despite adversity

However, in the 1980s, cheap peanuts began to be imported from China, and sales of domestically produced butter peanuts began to decline. Even when the company faced strong headwinds, Ikeda Foods chose to continue looking ahead and taking on new challenges.

Rather than competing on price, the company felt it "had to create something new and original," and so it went so far as to replace the manufacturing facilities for its main product, butter peanuts, in order to create its signature product, "Roasted Cashews," which made use of cashew nuts, which were not yet familiar in Japan at the time.

Ikeda Foods continues to stand up to the countless difficulties and crises that have come its way, and the constant trial and error and decisions it has made over the years as it has questioned "how can we survive while being loved by the local community?"

Ikeda Foods has made a major effort in recent years to revamp its logo and packaging in 2018. Based on the concept of "modern Japanese," the company adopted a dark blue color that combines the calmness of Japanese culture with Scandinavian design. The company has made every effort to make the product suitable for any occasion, from everyday use to celebrations and condolences.

The appeal of roasted cashews, the face of the brand

The Shiraishi main store is popular with locals, including families and the occasional jogger who drops in. The store stocks a full range of products, including bean snacks, nuts, and karinto, with an astounding total of about 70 different types.

Among them, the long-selling product "Baked Cashews" has been the most popular and was one of the keys to overcoming the difficulties. According to Okubo, its appeal is "the crispness and good texture that comes from being coated, which you can't get with plain cashew nuts."

"Even when we release a new flavor, there are still customers who pick up the roasted cashew flavor, so it's become so popular," he said, giving us a sense of its popularity.

We are able to deliver a flavor that has been loved for so long thanks to the strength and skill of our skilled craftsmen at our own factories.

The most important step is "Komaki," a process in which a large basin taller than one is moved to create the batter on the surface. This process, which involves spreading the batter evenly over the irregularly shaped beans and nuts, which vary from one to another, is something that only a skilled craftsman with a finely honed sense can accomplish.

Okubo explained that the cashews are then roasted slowly using a direct flame roasting method, which involves roasting the cashews with flames from above and below to slowly remove moisture, increase the density of the nuts, and give them a fragrant finish, resulting in the roasted cashews.

A great souvenir for Sapporo or as a travel companion

In addition to "baked cashews," there are other items you'll want to take home as souvenirs for loved ones or as travel companions, such as "Uzumaki Karinto," a shape familiar to Hokkaido residents, "Strawberry Karinto" made with the mythical Sapporo-exclusive strawberry "Satohoro," and "Corn Cashew," accented with Hokkaido corn powder and salt made from Okhotsk seawater.

With a lineup of about 70 varieties, you're sure to find a new flavor or a favorite. The time you spend trying to decide which one to choose is sure to be a memorable and enjoyable experience.

To be a bean snack manufacturer that the local community can be proud of

As a company with deep roots in the local area, Ikeda Foods values using ingredients grown in Hokkaido and Japan. By doing so, they have a fundamental desire to "boost the primary industry."

The desserts and drinks made with peanuts from Memuro, Tokachi, are one of the items on the menu only available at the "Shiraishi Main Store." The "Nuts Paste Dip," where you dip karinto in the paste, and the "Nuts Paste Shake," where nuts are squeezed to make a paste after an order is placed, are fresh and additive-free, and are truly new sensations.

To spread the appeal of peanuts throughout the country, the group not only creates and sells bean snacks, but also works to propose new ways to eat peanuts, and the group's challenge knows no bounds.

"The current chairman often says, 'A good name can only be protected by innovation.' We create new flavors and change our packaging to meet the needs of the times. This attitude of always striving to improve and take on new challenges is spreading throughout the company."

We want to be the "bean snack manufacturer that Hokkaido residents can be proud of" that is the first name that comes to mind when thinking of "Sapporo souvenirs." And we want to continue to be "a presence loved by the locals."

While valuing what remains the same, Ikeda Foods continues to change. There is no end to the pursuit of new possibilities for beans, nuts, and karinto.

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Ikeda Foods (Shiraishi main store)
Address: 32-3-1 Chuo, Shiroishi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
Phone number: 011-811-2211
Access: About 15 minutes on foot from Shiroishi Station or Higashi Sapporo Station on the Tozai Subway Line
Website: https://ikeda-c.co.jp/
SNS: https://www.instagram.com/ikeda1948 
           https://www.facebook.com/ikeda1948/
           https://x.com/iKEDA_1948 
*For details on business hours and holidays, please check the link above.