Bento boxes topped with a single side dish and priced in the 200-yen range are selling briskly in Japan, as rising food costs push consumers to cut the price of each meal.
Lawson Slashes Side Dishes and Prices
Japanese convenience store chain Lawson released a line of ultra-low-priced bento boxes with a minimal number of side dishes on Sept. 16, according to local retail industry sources and foreign media including Tokyo Weekender.
The lineup includes a box with nothing but salmon flakes over rice, along with versions topped with teriyaki sausage and with corn. Prices range from 200 to 300 yen, or roughly 1,700 to 2,500 won.
Unlike conventional bento boxes, the products use only one or two ingredients instead of an assortment of side dishes to hold prices down. The approach relies on a small portion of heavily salted salmon flakes to be eaten with the rice, or on relatively cheap ingredients such as sausage and corn.
On Japanese online communities and social media, some complained that "the composition is far too simple," while others said, "Given prices these days, this is enough at this price point" and "It is a good way to handle lunch cheaply."
Some items sold out shortly after release or moved quickly off store shelves, drawing more attention than expected. Buyers also commented that the boxes "would be good for days when you come home from work with no energy to cook" and that "the topping is monotonous, but it is saltier and spicier than expected, so you end up eating a lot of rice."
Japanese Consumers Trim Food Spending
Prolonged high inflation is cited as the backdrop for the attention the ultra-cheap bento boxes have drawn. With prices of food and daily necessities climbing in succession, a growing number of consumers are cutting spending on dining out and groceries and turning to low-priced or discounted items at convenience stores.
In a household spending survey by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications for July, real consumption spending by households of two or more people fell from a year earlier for the eighth consecutive month. Food spending also declined 1.3%.
Some analysts say products that strip down to only the necessary components to lower prices have matched demand from consumers who prioritize value. Retail industry officials expect competition in ultra-low-priced and ready-to-eat meals to continue, given the likelihood that price pressures will persist for some time.
In South Korea as well, spending aimed at easing food costs is spreading, shifting demand toward low-priced meal products at convenience stores. According to the retail industry, spending through CU's mobile meal vouchers in January through August of this year rose 62.1% from the same period a year earlier. At GS25, spending in the first half of this year increased 15%.
Use of mobile meal vouchers has expanded steadily in recent years. Spending at CU rose 69.6% in 2024 and 34.4% in 2025 from the previous year in each case, while GS25 posted year-on-year sales growth of 43.1% in 2024 and 16.7% in 2025.
