3 Long-Established Japanese Bento Makers Start Selling Ekiben at Switzerland Railway Station

By Sho Funakoshi / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

15:25 JST, February 6, 2025

ZURICH — Three long-established Japanese makers of ekiben — box meals sold at stations — started selling their products Thursday at Zurich main station, the largest railway station in Switzerland.

These companies intend to track sales and customer response during a three-week trial period until Feb. 27 in order to expand future sales channels in Europe.

All three companies — Hanazen based in Odate, Akita Prefecture, Maneki Foods Co. in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture, and Matsuura Shoten in Nagoya — have been in business for more than 100 years. They jointly opened a pop-up store inside the station and sell six types of ekiben, including rice with Swiss beef, miso katsuju, or pork cutlet with miso sauce on top of rice, and tenmusu, or a rice ball topped with tempura. The rice used for the ekiben has been cooked and frozen in Japan, while other ingredients are procured in Switzerland.

Prices range from 12 to 22.5 Swiss francs (about ¥2,000 to 3,800). The companies aim to sell about 180 ekiben meals per day.

According to Noritaka Takeda, president of Maneki Foods, the Japanese market for ekiben could stagnate in the future due to the population decline and other factors, so making inroads into overseas markets is on the agenda. Switzerland, which borders Germany, France and other countries, has a well-developed railway system, creating good conditions to sell ekiben.

Items such as sandwiches are the most common food sold at Swiss train stations, but ekiben box meals were received well at an event held at the station on Wednesday. Some attendees said ekiben were delicious while others described the box meals as a flavor they can’t eat in Switzerland.

“We want to use this initiative as a foothold to spread the culture of ekiben throughout the world,” Takeda said.