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You can only order a box of Kobe beef croquettes within Japan, and if you do that today, you’ll get a package in 43 years. The Asahiya family butcher shop in Takasago, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan is overwhelmed with orders.
Kobe beef is a tender Wagyu beef raised to strict standards in and around Kobe, Japan.
The butcher shop was founded in 1926 and began selling croquettes after the Second World War. But they only became a sensation in 2000. “Extreme croquettes” were added to the store’s online menu in 1999. It was the idea of Shigeru Nitta, the butcher shop’s third-generation owner, who recognized that customers were hesitant to pay high prices for Kobe beef online, according to CNN. The extreme croquettes should be a good taste test.
The most delicious beef
At that time they were sold for 270 Japanese yen each, which is about 42 crowns. The meat alone cost 400 yen, or about 62 crowns.
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“We have created affordable and tasty croquettes that reflect our concept. “Our strategy was for customers to enjoy the croquettes and perhaps order our Kobe beef after the first taste,” explained the butcher owner.
In order to minimize the financial loss, the butcher’s kitchen initially only produced 200 croquettes per week.
High quality ingredients
The butcher shop prides itself on only selling meat from suppliers it knows well and from the same prefecture. The current owner’s grandfather used to ride his bike around the farm and select certain animals.
The success of the croquettes is due to the high quality of the ingredients at an unimaginably low price. The croquettes are made daily without preservatives from the meat of three-year-old Kobe A5 cows and potatoes from a local farm.
The owner of the butcher shop even encouraged the potato farmer to fertilize the field with cow manure. The potato stalks are then fed to the dairy cow, thus completing the cycle.
When the croquettes hit the media in the early 2000s, so many orders were received that they were removed from sale in 2016. But there were so many calls asking to be relisted that they were put back on the menu. Because customers don’t mind decades of waiting.
Although the price of croquettes has increased to around 83 crowns per piece, the prices of the ingredients have also increased, so the loss for the manufacturer is still the same. There are no longer 200 produced per week, but 200 per day.
Photo: Taťána Kynčlová, novinky.cz
Wagyu is characterized by its delicious taste and distinctive marbling.
Nitta laughs at her own loss-making idea and advocates increasing production. If he did that, the company would go bankrupt. But half of the croquette recipients actually end up ordering his premium Kobe beef, so his strategy works.
Customers who receive their croquettes today ordered them about ten years ago. A box of five croquettes costs around 416 crowns. The butcher shop sends regular email updates and checks the address a week before delivery, which may have changed over time.
Personal stories
The owner of the butcher shop was surprised to receive orders from distant Japanese islands, and this was the first time that customers could afford to try Kobe beef. Waiting for the croquettes even forced one of them to undergo surgery to obtain them due to a serious illness. The operation went well and the man became a regular customer of the butcher shop. This deeply moved the owner.
“I’m grateful. By becoming famous, I hope I can help the entire industry, not just my business,” Nitta concluded with typical Japanese modesty.
Those who want to try the butcher’s products in the foreseeable future have the opportunity to order a different type of croquettes with delivery in ten years or try the finished products made from premium beef in the original store in Takasago or the new branch in the city of Kobe, that is about 50 kilometers away. Two types of ready-made croquettes are offered for 56 and 70 crowns respectively.
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