Pancake Back on Sale after “Kanano” Baseball Furor

August 23, 2018

Akita- Excitement over the impressive performance of Kanaashi Nogyo at a national high school baseball championship has spilled into the retail sector.

On Thursday, two days after the high school, known as "Kanano" for short, finished second in the summer tournament, a pancake product jointly developed by Lawson Inc. and students of the school was released at all 191 stores of the major convenience store chain in Akita Prefecture, home to the prefecture-run agricultural high school.

"Kanano Pancake," priced at 145 yen, uses flour of the "Akita Komachi" variety of rice grown in Akita. Launched in 2012, the product has been revamped every year.

This year, Lawson sold the pancake in May and June in a limited-time offer. The chain decided to put it back on sale after a series of victories the high school chalked up over powerful teams at Hanshin Koshien Stadium, coming within one victory of bringing the championship to the Tohoku northeastern region, including Akita, for the first time ever.

Lawson prepared a limited number of the pancake and the sale will finish when it runs out of stock.

At a Lawson store in the prefectural capital of Akita, customers hoping to snap up the product started arriving early in the morning on Thursday. The store, which stocked up with 200 units, restricted sales to five units per customer due to stronger-than-expected demand.

A man in his 70s beamed after getting some. "I was able to buy them at the third store after they sold out at nearby shops," he said. He is a graduate of Kanaashi Nogyo, like his father, elder brother and a nephew.

"We've received inquiries (about the pancake) every day since the team went through to the third round," Akari Takahashi, 24-year-old manager of the Lawson store, said. "Every customer makes a bulk purchase. It is selling at the fastest-ever pace."

After the pancake drew keen consumer attention via social media, Lawson is looking at possible sales in other prefectures, officials said. Jiji Press