A Brand Partnership is Why Japan Eats Salmon Sushi

Japan might not be eating salmon sushi today if the Norwegian government hadn’t crafted a certain brand partnership. 

Until Until 35 years ago, Japanese people never ate salmon sushi. Since the local salmon had parasites, the Japanese would only eat it cooked. To Norway, this seemed like a lost opportunity for the country to sell its large supply of salmon to Japan. Norway just needed to convince the Japanese market that salmon sushi was a good idea. 

At first, Norway ran ad campaigns. To counteract the idea that Norwegian salmon contained parasites, the ads focused on the salmon’s clean, fresh quality. Images of fjords and stunning ocean vistas with traditional fishermen filled the frames. But after a few years, the ads hadn’t budged the Japanese’s wary perception of raw salmon. 

The Norwegians decided to try a more culturally relevant approach. In their salmon sushi TV commercials, they added a mascot: an adorable cartoon Viking with a big adorable head and big adorable eyes. It didn’t matter. The Japanese weren’t willing to risk getting sick from parasites just because of a cute ad. 

Finally, Norway changed its approach. It built a strong relationship with Nichirei, a top producer of frozen foods. Everyone in Japan knows this brand. It’s a household name. Eventually, Nichirei agreed to partner with Norway. The corporation bought 5,000 tons of frozen Norwegian salmon and sold it to grocery stores as salmon sushi. 

This made all the difference. Japanese consumers knew that Nichirei wouldn’t sell them fish that would make them sick. They trusted Nichirei and so they bought the salmon sushi. Within years, the stigma attached to salmon sushi vanished. Today, salmon sushi is even popular. The Norwegian marketing team is probably still celebrating. All it took was a carefully crafted brand partnership.

It’s a lesson in how brand partnerships and co-branding efforts can open up new markets, enable customers to access new products, and even change consumers’ mindsets and behavior. It’s important to note that Norway chose a trusted, long established Japanese brand (Nichirei was founded in 1942). If Norway had partnered with an unconventional brand without a strong reputation, Japanese consumers probably wouldn’t risk trying a new product they didn’t yet trust. Trust and credibility was key for the partnership to work. 

For more on this story, take a listen to this NPR episode.