The red-colored, glistening grains that are piled generously on top of the bowl of rice - you may have noticed that these are not actually natural fish roe.

This is MIRA-IKURA, which was developed by Nichirei Fresh and has been sold on a trial basis since September 2023.

MIRA-IKURA is a fish roe-like food that is seasoned with Nichirei Fresh's proprietary seasoning solution for a delicious taste. Unlike natural fish roe, it does not contain cholesterol or substances that cause allergies to fish roe, and is free of animal ingredients (plant-based). This food can be enjoyed by hyperlipidemic people who are avoiding cholesterol-rich foods, people with fish roe allergies, and vegan-oriented people.

The reason why this MIRA-IKURA was created. The Nichirei Group's desire to create new value based on the theme of food and health.

Mr. Takada, who has been involved in the fishery business at Nichirei Fresh for many years and has experience learning how to process and produce fish roe from an engineer who was involved in fish roe production in Alaska, said, "I am very happy to have been able to learn how to process and produce fish roe."

Although fish roe is one of the most handled seafood products by Nichirei Fresh. Its catch has been declining in recent years due to the effects of global warming. For Nichirei Fresh, the question of "what to do with the salmon roe business in the future" had been a longstanding issue.

Takada and his colleagues decided to start a full-scale effort to commercialize MIRA-IKURA.

But how many customers would be willing to buy MIRA-IKURA? Takada says it was necessary to find out.

The survey set various conditions, such as the number of people in their 40s to 60s who want to eat fish roe but are unable to do so satisfactorily due to high cholesterol levels. In order to find out how many people completely matched these conditions, we repeated the hypothesis and verification process over and over again.

Then, after conducting surveys and interviews both inside and outside the company, we found that there were a certain number of passionate customers who needed what Takada and his team considered MIRA-IKURA a cholesterol-free product.

We also prepared the prototype MIRA-IKURA and 5,000 copies of product flyers for advance notice and test sales at two locations: one was the Tsukiji Market, which is close to our head office and where many of the stores we do business with are located. The other was the Togoshi Ginza shopping street, which is one of the longest in the Kanto region and is expected to have many users who fit the hypothetical conditions. We received the following response from a passerby who picked up the flyer.

When test sales were conducted at supermarkets, customers who purchased the product had the following to say about it.

A woman who said, Only I couldn't eat fish roe because of a fish roe allergy, so now I can eat it with my family," expressing the joy of eating it with her loved ones.
Children said, "It doesn't smell fishy, it's delicious. I could eat salmon roe for the first time." and  are big, crunchy, and delicious!" children with happy expressions on their faces.

From the very beginning of the test sales, MIRA-IKURA was eagerly awaited for sale. However, because Nichirei Fresh has been particular about fish roe and salted fish roe for many years, Takada thought that they should focus on texture.

Takada is particularly particular about the texture and the size of the grains.
There are two main types of fish roe in general distribution: "trout roe" and "salmon roe". Trout roe is smaller than salmon roe. On the other hand, salmon roe is larger and has a richer flavor with more fat. Takada wanted to focus on the texture of salmon roe because he has been involved in the salmon roe and salted salmon roe business for many years.

Thus, the completed MIRA-IKURA succeeded in creating a new value that cannot be found in natural fish roe.

MIRA-IKURA has been attracting attention as "food of the future" as it has been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers for its topical characteristics. In addition, the catch of natural fish roe is decreasing due to the effects of global warming and other factors, and we have received feedback from people who appreciate MIRA-IKURA from a sustainable perspective as well.

Nichirei Fresh has continued to make improvements while incorporating customer feedback, and introduced MIRA-IKURA for two consecutive years starting in 2023 at the "Kodawari Seminar," a seminar for suppliers held annually by Nichirei Fresh. Suppliers who tasted the product said, "It tastes even better than last year!" We are proud of the new value we are bringing to our customers.

MIRA-IKURA offers all kinds of new values to customers and can be eaten in various ways. We hope you will find a new way to enjoy it that is different from natural fish roe.

Part 3: Adding New Value to Taste. (to be released in March), we will report on the daily struggles of the production of MIRA-IKURA, together with the manufacturing plant Fresh Maruichi Co.