From Box to display

From egg to creature.

An article from the "Mainichi Daily News" dated 19th June 2000. The story behind the Choco Eggs.

Now adults, these same children have once again become enthusiastic collectors of plastic toys, only this time the objects of their interest are plastic models of animals that come in packages of sweets made by Furuta Confectionery Co., Ltd. Biologists and environmentalists have been amazed at the detailed, palm-sized animals. Several museums have gone so far as to put the animals in display cases to stimulate children's interest in nature. Some collectors purchase the packages of sweets in such quantities that there was a shortage of stock in some areas.

The product that has caused all the stir is called the Choco Egg - Collection of Japanese Animals, which hit the market last September. Inside the hollow chocolate eggs are small parts, which, when assembled, form certain animals. There are 96 plastic models in the series including raccoons, swallows, a small Eurasian flying squirrel, a Japanese water beetle and the Japanese wolf.

The company initially set a monthly production volume of the 3-D figures at 400,000 to 500,000, but unexpected interest on the part of adults forced the company to increase shipments to over 1 million in the months of February and March this year.

"Despite the increased shipments, the eggs quickly sold out at one store after another," said Toyohiko Furuta, a 40-year-old director at Furuta.

Furuta has currently halted production of the Choco Egg as it only intends to produce them during the fall and winter months. The company plans to introduce a new candy product from July this year with plastic models of the world's rare animal species. There will be 12 animals included on the so-called "red data" list of endangered species including black rhinos and Amure tigers. They expect the new series will be as popular as the old one.

Meanwhile, upon receiving a full set of Furuta models of Japanese animals earlier this year, the Itami City Museum of Insects in Hyogo Prefecture set aside a space in the museum to display the models and let visitors handle them.

"We encourage visitors to touch the models as much as they'd like in order to get them more interested in the natural world," said Seiichi Okuyama, 29.

The model animals have also peaked the interest of academics. Takayoshi Nishida, 43, a research assistant in insect ecology at the Department of Agriculture at Kyoto University, heard about the boom from students and began collecting the models himself. Nishida currently has 50 of the animals in his collection.

"What amazed me was the precise and detailed structure of each model," said Nishida. "I think the lizard and other amphibians are extremely close to the real things. At home, I display my whole collection in a handmade cardboard diorama."

Takeshi Wada, a staff worker with the Osaka Museum of Natural History, is also an admirer of the Furuta models.

"Some of the members of our museum fan club trade the animals amongst themselves," said Wada. "They are already extremely popular among nature lovers."

The realistic appearance of each model is the work of Kaiyodo Co., an Osaka-based model maker known for its attention to detail. Kaiyodo was commissioned to make a prototype of each model and choose which animals would be included in the series. The company has a solid reputation for making top-notch plastic models of creatures and dinosaurs, so much so that several of their models are displayed at the Museum of Natural History in New York.

Even though they were manufacturing trinkets this time, the company did not relax its rigid standards of model making. Instead, they tried to come up with premiums that would attract adults.

"We were all elated to learn that animal and nature lovers went for our ideas so strongly," said Shuichi Miyawaki, a 42-year-old vice president with Kaiyodo.

Collectors have now set up Websites where they can share information about the animals and arrange exchanges and auctions.

By the end of March this year, Furuta had received more than 1,000 related responses from consumers. Some of the letters suggested that a portion of the cost of the sweets be set aside for the protection of nature thus deepening the social significance of the chocolate eggs. Others have requested the company to include animals from the Ogasawara islands and have even offered their services in doing the necessary research.