Usage Scenarios for uchipac Deli
The uchipac Success Story
In 1975, Uchino-ya began as a local deli in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture. Our initial concept was simple yet innovative: to offer daily homemade meals free from additives typically absent from home kitchens. We took on the task of crafting fresh items every day and selling them on the very same day, a tradition we continue in our deli business to this day.
However, our commitment to avoiding preservatives presented us with a dilemma, as it led to a short shelf life for our products, resulting in food waste. We consistently pondered how to extend this shelf life without resorting to food additives. In our initial product development phase, we considered the conventional approach of packaging chilled deli dishes, a common practice in convenience stores and supermarkets. However, when it came to selling deli items for takeout, we quickly realized the risk of foodborne illness due to the inability to maintain temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius during transportation.
It was during this challenging period that we had an epiphany: we could create shelf-stable deli dishes by subjecting them to high-temperature sterilization, ensuring that the interior remained sterile and allowing us to transport them at room temperature. Challenging the prevailing belief that room temperature deli dishes couldn't be delicious, we embarked on an arduous journey of approximately two years of product development, ultimately giving birth to the uchipac Shelf-Stable Deli Series.
Our unwavering commitment to three key principles remained the guiding force behind this innovation:
- Crafting room temperature deli dishes
- Refraining from using food additives during the cooking process
- Creating deli dishes that families could enjoy every day
The result defied convention: shelf-stable deli dishes with an impressive shelf life of up to one year and seven months from the production date. (laughs)