26-04-2025
Expert develops storage bag that keeps bread like just out of oven
Takehisa Okamura, right, president of Kinou Sozai Co. who developed a bread freshness-keeping bag called "Pan Oishii-mama," and Yukari Yamamoto, owner of the Marugen Kitchen bakery, pose for a photo in Kochi on March 17. (Kazunori Haga)
KOCHI--Every time Takehisa Okamura ate bread at home, he wanted to savor the flavor of a freshly baked loaf.
However, bread tastes best when it is served fresh out of the oven.
It needs to be cooled before being packed in bags. Otherwise, the humidity rises inside the bag and causes mold to grow.
Bread is sold in stores only after it cools and loses heat--and its fresh flavor as well.
Being a material expert, Okamura, 55, thought that the problem could be solved by allowing only moisture to escape outside while keeping the aroma inside.
Okamura is the founder of Kinou Sozai Co., an affiliate of Okamura-Kasei Co., a wholesale company dealing in paper, non-woven fabrics and other products for which he also serves as president.
He established Kinou Sozai, which means "functional materials" in Japanese, in 2009 to manufacture and sell products made using such materials.
Okamura spent the next three years finding the right material.
FRESH EVEN AFTER DEFROSTING
Regular food packaging films need to serve as barriers to prevent oxygen, water vapor and other gases from entering and maintain the food quality.
Okamura developed a bag designed exclusively to store bread and maintain its freshness in 2020, using a special resin that prevents air entering from outside and allows moisture inside the bag to pass through.
Because the bag is impervious to oxygen, it can help prevent oxidation. It also allows moisture to escape, keeping mold from forming.
The product received an encouragement prize at the Local Industry Awards hosted by the prefectural government.
To utilize it, users simply put bread into the bag and seal it with the accompanying clip.
The bag created a buzz among bread enthusiasts as it can retain the aroma and flavor for a longer period.
According to estimates from the Kochi Prefectural Industrial Technology Center, the aroma of bread remained unchanged even after the bread was kept in the bag for a week at room temperature.
The product was given the straightforward name, "Pan Oishii-mama" (Keeps bread tasty).
The innovation proved successful, and the number of bags sold doubled from 1 million in 2023 to 2 million in 2024.
Another advantage is that Pan Oishii-mama helps prevent bread from frosting and developing a soggy texture even after it is stored in a freezer because it allows moisture to escape.
"There is no need to bake it again, and you can let it thaw naturally to enjoy the flavor as if it is freshly baked," Okamura said.
UNEXPECTED DEMAND
The Pan Oishii-mama bag has attracted an increasing number of unexpected customers.
Yukari Yamamoto, 39, who runs Marugen Kitchen, a popular bakery in Kochi that serves breads made from rice flour, said it is a "liberator" for bakeries run by one person.
To prevent the aroma of freshly baked bread from escaping, she previously included a deoxygenating agent in a gas-filled bag used for wrapping sweets to maintain the freshness of her breads.
But after she started using the Pan Oishii-mama, she was spared from having to add the freshness-retaining agent and just focus on making bread.
For customers who buy a lot, she can tell them with confidence that they can savor the flavor even after the bread stored in a freezer is thawed.
"We have been aiming to develop something that is a niche product but creates a steady demand," Okamura said. "We want to keep moving forward with our unique thinking and ideas, doing things different from other companies."
A set of three Pan Oishii-mama bags, which are large enough to hold two loaves of bread, is sold at a starting price of 495 yen ($3.40).
