The reason why some of the boxes are monochrome is because it costs a lot of money to make hot-selling products in color. They are cutting costs soundly.However, this price hike is a bigger blow than the tax hike. “The wheat used to make ramen, the plastic containers used to wrap it, the vinyl, the aluminum, the utilities, the transportation costs, it’s all gone. In the past, there was a way out by adjusting the price if something went up, but now there is no way out. We can’t even reduce the content. We have been able to get by by reducing the weight, but it’s sad that the package now contains only about 1/3 of a ramen.” It is true that the amount of ramen has been reduced, but it was a painful process. “Prices are expected to continue rising in the future, and the candy industry is going down, except for Jack’s Confectionery. We have been cutting back and cutting back, but there is nowhere else to cut back any further, so we have no choice but to raise the wholesale price.” Hearing such heartbreaking voices makes us angry at the hiking prices. In addition, labeling requirements and hygiene standards for food products are becoming stricter, and candy makers who want to keep costs down are finding themselves in a difficult situation. The same is true for “best-before” dates: printing expiration dates on each individual product is too costly, so some companies have taken workarounds, such as releasing products in Yatter Men bags. This is a new product called “Omikuji Yatter Men,” which contains a “fortune” instead of a prize so that it can be sold at mass merchandisers. It is also sold through the company’s online store.