{"code":0,"data":[{"keyword":"SUB CATEGORY","content":"SUSTAINABLE COMMERCE","is_link":false},{"keyword":"ENTRANT COMPANY","content":"THE BREAKTHROUGH COMPANY GO, TOKYO","is_link":false},{"keyword":"TITLE","content":"SAVE ME","is_link":false},{"keyword":"BRAND","content":"FAMILYMART","is_link":false},{"keyword":"ADVERTISER","content":"FAMILYMART","is_link":false},{"keyword":"AGENCY","content":"THE BREAKTHROUGH COMPANY GO, TOKYO","is_link":false},{"keyword":"CREATIVE DIRECTOR","content":"NAOHIRO TOGAWA","is_link":false},{"keyword":"PRODUCTION PRODUCER","content":"YUKI OSHIMA","is_link":false},{"keyword":"DESIGNER","content":"MEGUMI SHIRAI","is_link":false},{"keyword":"COORDINATOR","content":"KYOKO HORI","is_link":false},{"keyword":"BUSINESS PRODUCER","content":"YUKIKO TAKAMURA","is_link":false},{"keyword":"PLANNER","content":"YUKI MATSUMOTO","is_link":false},{"keyword":"PR PLANNER","content":"MOE ODAGIRI ","is_link":false},{"keyword":"DESIGN COMPANY","content":"J2 COMPLEX INC., TOKYO","is_link":false},{"keyword":"CAMPAIGN SUMMARY","content":"In Japan, convenience stores offer a variety of ready-to-eat meals 24\/7. But this convenience has a cost. Nearly US$30,000 worth of food is wasted per store every year.\r\n
Over 90% of Japanese people want to reduce food waste, but A DEEP-ROOTED SOCIAL STIGMA gets in the way. Buying discounted food can be seen as a loss of face. To break this, FamilyMart turned to a language rooted in Japanese culture: EMOJI. Since Japan invented them in 1999, emojis have filled the emotional gaps in our communication. We applied this visual power at the final point of purchase. Not as a discount label, but as A HUMAN PLEA.\r\n
By giving a simple rice ball a face and a voice, we triggered A PROTECTIVE INSTINCT—as if it had a life. Suddenly, buying a discounted item wasn’t about saving money; it was about rescuing. PURCHASE RATES ROSE BY 5% on average, and in some stores by more than 10%. Around 3,000 tons of food waste were rescued and turned into revenue, equivalent to roughly US$37M annually at scale. With no additional operations and no added cost, a micro-nudge of just 2cm created A MASSIVE SHIFT.\r\n
We then shared this impact beyond FamilyMart. We OPENED THE DESIGN TO THE PUBLIC, with new variations—free for anyone to use. The “Teary-eyed” nudge is changing everyday choices.\r\n
","is_link":false},{"keyword":"CREATIVITY\/IDEA\/INSIGHT","content":"In Japan, convenience stores offer a wide range of ready-to-eat meals—from sushi and noodles to sandwiches—throughout the day, making food accessible at any time. However, this convenience has a hidden cost. To keep shelves constantly full, stores prepare more food than they can always sell, resulting in nearly US$30,000 WORTH OF FOOD WASTE per store every year. What remains is discarded—often incinerated—adding carbon emissions.\r\n
Awareness isn’t the issue. Over 90% of Japanese consumers want to reduce food waste. Yet the most common solution—discounts—often fails to convert that intention into action. A DEEP-ROOTED SOCIAL STIGMA gets in the way: buying discounted food can be perceived as a loss of face, implying you’re someone who tries to buy things cheaper. As a result, discount labels don’t motivate purchase; they can actually reinforce avoidance. \r\n
For FamilyMart, one of Japan’s largest convenience store chains with 16,000 stores, this was a constant dilemma.\r\n
","is_link":false},{"keyword":"STRATEGY","content":"The challenge was not awareness or pricing, but emotion. Our strategy was to change the meaning of the discount at the final point of purchase. Instead of appealing to rational benefit, we aimed to activate emotion—specifically, empathy.\r\n
To do that, we turned to a language rooted in Japanese culture: EMOJI. Since Japan invented them in 1999, emojis have filled the emotional gaps in our communication. We applied this visual power at the final point of purchase.\r\n
By reframing discounted food not as a cheaper choice, but as something that needed help, we sought to connect people’s intention to reduce food waste to action. The goal was to shift motivation from “saving money” to “SAVING FOOD.”\r\n
","is_link":false},{"keyword":"EXECUTION","content":"FamilyMart replaced its existing discount stickers with a simple visual intervention. Instead of the usual price-focused label, an illustration of a teary-eyed rice ball was added with the message: “SAVE ME.” That was the only change. NO NEW OPERATIONS. NO ADDITIONAL COSTS.\r\n
\r\n
After proving the concept in-store, we shared this impact with retailers beyond FamilyMart. We OPENED THE DESIGN TO THE PUBLIC, free for anyone to use, enabling other retailers to adopt the same nudge. We also developed new design variations to fit different products and retail contexts—from bakeries to pastries—making the idea easy to replicate and scale.\r\n
","is_link":false},{"keyword":"RESULT","content":"Purchase rates of discounted items increased by 5% on average, with some stores seeing lifts of over 10%. Approximately 3,000 tons of food—equivalent to 1.2 Olympic-size swimming pools—were RESCUED and TURNED WASTE INTO REVENUE. Scaled across FamilyMart’s 16,000-store network over a year, this represents roughly US$37M in annual revenue impact. (*disclosed to public)\r\n
The meaning of buying discounted food changed. It was no longer about saving money, but about rescuing. Social media was filled with posts showing purchases, with comments like “I couldn’t leave him there” and “Don’t look at me like that.”\r\n
Opening the design to the public as free assets was widely praised. In the first week alone, the design files were downloaded over 5,000 times.\r\n
The campaign generated extensive media coverage, earning US$13M in earned media value. In Nikkei BP’s ESG Brand Survey (560 companies), FamilyMart jumped from 74th in 2024 to 16th in 2025, and ranked No. 1 for “Brand that consumers want to continue supporting”.\r\n
The campaign proved that even a 2CM MICRO-NUDGE can create a transformative shift when it is BUILT on A DEEPLY HUMAN INSIGHT. By appealing to empathy rather than price, a small design unlocked big behavioral change at scale.\r\n
","is_link":false},{"keyword":"URL","content":"https:\/\/www.family.co.jp\/company\/news_releases\/2025\/20251022_01.html","is_link":true}],"files2":[{"name":"CM11_001.mp4","type":"mp4"},{"name":"CM11_001_DI01L.jpg","type":"jpg"}],"count":2}