Sakuraco has officially reached one year of curating authentic Japanese snacks. Thanks to this great achievement, we are proud to say that we have grown and evolved a great amount. However, our main goal is to always provide genuine experiences with Japanese food that you can enjoy.
While reflecting over the past year, we wanted to see just how we compare to another Japanese snack box, Bokksu. We will focus on March 2021 and February 2022, just to see how we respectively developed over the past year.
Theming & Storytelling
Bokksu and Sakuraco both offer a wide variety of Japanese themes that best represent the culture. Nevertheless, the two take slightly different approaches that will definitely impact your experience.
Sakuraco initially had more of a flavor focused theme due to Sakuraco starting in spring. Taking advantage of sakura season is essential to the Japanese tea experience.
![A picture of Sakura-infused sweets from Sakuraco's Sakura-themed box in 2022. Everything, from the jelly to the mochi, is either white or pink.](https://blog.sakura.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/3-1024x638.png)
However, from July 2021 to January 2022, Sakuraco began to focus on prefecture focused boxes. The reason for this is to highlight the unique flavors and cultures of each of the locations we were lucky enough to highlight. By selecting snacks inspired by specific, individual prefectures, we can give each area the care they deserve, allowing us to tell local stories that can enrich the snacks in our boxes.
Bokksu tends to focus more on more flavor focused themes, with a heavy emphasis on seasonality. These boxes have a more general feeling to them that may be less specifically Japan focused. This makes up five of the themes. Alongside this there are three festival themed boxes based on Sakura, Natsu Matsuri and the Moon Viewing Festival. Additionally towards the end of the year, four prefectually focused boxes, much like Sakuraco had been doing since summer a few months prior.
Partnerships with Local Prefectures
One of the boxes Sakuraco was lucky enough to curate throughout the last year was our January 2022 box, which was an official partnership between Sakuraco and Kanagawa’s Prefectural Government. Through this partnership, we were able to work with even more makers than ever before, with the help of the local government connecting us with family run makers who we otherwise may have not been familiar with.
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Through this collaboration, we were able to make a unique box we were truly proud of and highlight a wonderful prefecture, whose stories deserve more time on the world stage, something our Sakuraco family really enjoyed as well. We’ll continue to provide more fantastic collabs with local prefectural governments all around the country in the coming years too.
Bokksu had no box partnerships with local Japanese governments during this time.
Snack Quality and Originality
Japanese snacks are a wide and diverse world that can be tricky for people unfamiliar with Japanese sweets who might be hesitant to venture into. But this is where Japanese snack boxes come in and can be a big help to people who want to just enjoy authentic Japanese snack experiences.
Both Sakuraco and Bokksu in the past year have dedicated themselves to providing snack experiences with sweets, treats and teas that match the season. In addition, throughout the year, both brands offered various items that were exclusive to their box that could only be bought through them.
![A snapshot of local Japanese washi, which Skauraco is proud to feature in their lineup.](https://blog.sakura.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/shutterstock_237530746-min.png)
However, where the two boxes differ is their commitment to a more traditional Japanese snack experience. Sakuraco aims to include no dagashi or snacks from large scale makers in any of our boxes. This is to focus more on the stories and snacks of our family owned smaller makers. Bokksu however tends to blend the two worlds, only offering partial support to family-owned makers, despite their website suggesting otherwise.
Another difference between Bokksu and Sakuraco over the past year is the inclusion of Japanese homegoods and kitchenware. Although in the past year, Bokksu has provided no such item, Sakuraco has. Each box this year contained an item of Japanese home goods and kitchenware, from yunomi cups to ornate ceramic plates. Through this, Sakuraco hopes to leave our subscribers with something memorable to cherish forever.
There is a clear comparison between the two February 2022 boxes. Sakuraco opted for five original and/or exclusive snacks and tableware, while Bokksu offered none.
![Sakuraco box items placed on a board to show the amazing quantity and quality of the products.](https://blog.sakura.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/image-5-e1659078574891.jpeg)
![Bokksu box items placed on a board to show the quantity and quality of the products.](https://blog.sakura.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/image-4-e1659078592503.jpeg)
Highlighting Japanese Makers
In the past year, Sakuraco has worked tirelessly to highlight our local partners and help them connect to our community. In every single Sakuraco booklet, we contain stories of our makers. Through this, both us and our Sakuraco family are able to learn more about their goals and their history.
We also created a short documentary series that feature some of our local partners and their hard work! Make sure to take a look.
There is a great importance to supporting local makers, and it’s our pleasure to provide them with a platform here at Sakuraco.
Bokksu in the past year has not collaborated with their makers to the same extent that Sakuraco has.
Conclusion
![An overhead shot of a recent Sakuraco box, which features a lot of senbei.](https://blog.sakura.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/past-box-min-1-1024x638.png)
With the first year of Sakuraco behind us, we are very happy to reflect on what we have been able to share with our Sakuraco family during that time. When we compare it with Bokksu, we hope you can see the way that Sakuraco stands out in the authentic Japanese snack box market.
But at the same time we have a lot more snack exploration to do! We hope to continue to innovate our Japanese snack boxes. If you would like to join us for a Japanese snack box, then why not discover what is coming this month in Sakuraco.