Jagarico
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Product type | Potato snack food |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Calbee |
| Country | Japan |
| Introduced | 1995 |
Jagarico is a family of salty snack products made primarily from processed fried potatoes. Introduced in 1995 by Calbee, Jagarico could be described as rod-shaped potato chips. According to Barabara Zec, they "have a similar appearance to French fries."[1]
This product is sold in packages of various sizes ranging from 38 to 108 grams (1.3 to 3.8 oz). The standard size of this product is 7 cm (2.8 in) in length and roughly 7 mm (0.28 in) in diameter. Since 2012, 8.5 cm (3.3 in) "long" size products have also been marketed.[2] Moreover, thinner versions with a diameters of about 5.25 mm (0.207 in) began to hit store shelves in 2022.[3] These pre-packaged potato sticks are available in many flavors throughout Japan and in at least ten other countries.[4] To boost sales, Calbee regularly introduces new flavors while taking those items with sluggish sales out of production. For example, a "Salt and Sesame Oil" incarnation of this product was launched in 2016. At roughly the same time their "Jurassic Salt" and "Cheese Curry" flavors were discontinued due to tepid sales.[5] Moreover, in 2020 a shorter garlic-flavored version of this product that targets older consumers hit the market.[6]
According to a 2018 report, about 14.5% of Calbee's total 2017 Q1 sales were derived from Jagarico products.[7] During the third financial quarter of 2021 Jagarico sales in Japan amounted to about 34.5 billion yen, and overseas sales are an increasingly important revenue source.[8] According to a 2017 survey by Keio Group, Jagarico was ranked as the fourth most popular snack in the Tokyo area. However, the sample size for that survey was not specified.[9]