The Beard Papa tote bag is just the tip of this creamberg.

Beard Papa is a popular chain of cream puff vendors, often found in the food courts of shopping malls. Their sizable flaky pastries loaded with cream make for a delectable mid-mall treat.

And now, they’ve joined the ranks of other leading food purveyors in Japan and created a fukubukuro to help ring in the New Year. However, unlike those offered by McDonald’s or Starbucks that usually just contain gift certificates for food, the Beard Papa Lucky bag actually has some fresh cream puffs right inside!

Our writer Saya went to pick one up and take a look at all its creamy contents.

Beard Papa Lucky Bag 2021 – 2,500 yen (US$24)

  • Original tote bag
  • 2,500 yen in gift certificates (five 500-yen certificates)
  • Three Pie Cream Puffs (Custard Filling)
  • Three Flavor-of-the-Month Cream Puffs

Right off the bat, you can see the value of the bundle is equal to the amount of coupons you get back, so everything else included is just icing on the cake…or cream in the puff, if you will.

Moreover, there are actually two types of bags depending on which location you visit. Saya’s store had the 2,500-yen ones, but some offer 3,300-yen bags which contain seven 500-yen tickets. In those cases you can get even more than you paid for.

But why wait, when sitting in the bottom of the bag is a six pack of fresh cream puffs? Three of them are the standard custard-filled Pie Cream Puffs, and the other three are the monthly flavor. Since the bags are on sale from 26 December to 5 January, this means anyone who buys one in January will get Strawberry Puffs.

Saya, however, got hers in December which means she was treated with three Premium Richness Cream Puffs that are filled with high-quality Hokkaido-sourced cream.

Keeping in mind that she already made her money back with the coupons and got six free cream puffs, valued at 170 yen a piece, on top, she’s now ahead of game by roughly 1,000 yen ($10).

That’s even without including the snazzy tote bag it all came in. With its distinctive Beard Papa yellow coloring and imagery you can save money and the environment while telling the whole town that you’re a mean Beard Papa, Mama, or non-binary Beard Parent.

The bag also has, “May your life be filled with peace, love, happiness, and beard papa,” written on it, which I believe is a Bible quote.

The only downside is that six cream puffs are a little hard for one person to tackle by themself. They’re only good for about a day so either buy them early and pace yourself and make sure you have other people to assist in the devouring.

Also be careful that while these bags are scheduled to be sold until 5 January, supplies might go fast. Holding out for the strawberry ones is a risky play, and the last thing you want to do is enter the new year without a big bag of cream by your side.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]