It’s up to you whether you want to count this new beverage product as a drink or as a dessert. 

Beginning on October 29, Lawson convenience stores throughout Japan will release a line of new products including an interesting take on dessert in drink form.

The new beverage is called “Nomu Soft Cream” (nomu means “to drink” or “drinkable”, “soft cream” is Japanese for soft serve ice cream) and is set to retail for 178 yen (US$1.64). It’s made using condensed milk from Hokkaido Prefecture’s well-known Machimura Farm, which is currently celebrating over 100 years in business. Back in February, Lawson carried another product called Machimura Farm Milk Cocoa that promptly sold out within about four weeks of hitting the shelves–perhaps a good sign for predicting success with this new drink.

▼ Its packaging is also notable for displaying a bird’s-eye view of soft serve on top of the lid.

However, interestingly, the vast majority of net reactions were extremely doubtful at the overall concept of soft serve ice cream as a drink:

“Um, I think I’ll pass.”
“For that price you could just buy a soft serve cone…”
“Another possible name: drinkable calories”
“How is this different from a shake? Or possibly a melted shake?”
“Melted soft serve doesn’t really taste good, but since this is supposed to be in drink form I’m assuming adjustments have been made so that it’s good.”

Japan does take its soft serve very seriously, with every size and flavor imaginable, from zunda (sweetened edamame paste; second from top-left in below photo) to shirasu (young sardines; bottom right corner in below photo).

▼ Soft serve sold outside a restaurant in Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture

SoraNews24

At the very least, we think that drinkable soft serve ice cream sounds a little more appetizing than the tomato latte offered exclusively at Lawson this past summer–which actually turned out to be pretty darn good.

Source: Livedoor News via Hachima Kiko
Featured image/insert image: Lawson
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