On Valentine’s Day this year, giving one’s lover a “magic egg” became all the rage in Japan. Anyone receiving such a gift could look forward to a series of pleasant surprises. If the clear pop-top can that held the egg was filled with water to cover the egg, after a short seven or eight hours, a large bean sprout would break through the shell and peep out. After seven days, the bean sprout would split into two seed leaves and gradually grow into a small seedling. Even more amazing was the text “I Love You” and heart symbol that appeared on the seed leaves that burst out of the eggshell. This aura of mystery and wonder, combined with a series of changes that seemed to serve as a metaphor of concealed love bursting forth, has delighted Japanese women, leading to sales of more than 100,000 magic eggs.
Young people in Taiwan, already drawn to things Japanese, quickly caught up with this craze, making inquiries about the product. When they discovered the magic egg at the Hands Tailung Creative Life Store, which keeps in sync with trends in Japan, more than 300 were sold in one day. Japanese fast-food chain Mos Burger also accurately sensed the appeal of the magic egg and introduced a theme meal featuring it: consumers could get one with the purchase of a set meal by paying an additional NT$199. In just a few brief months, a magic egg craze took hold in Taiwan, with even night markets seeing crowds of people eager to buy one.
Just when everyone was thinking that the magic egg was another Japanese masterstroke of “cuteness,” like Hello Kitty and Digital Baby, the egg’s actual inventor was quietly leading 80-plus employees in the suburbs of central Taiwan’s Chiayi, working day and night to package magic eggs and ship box after box of them out to the world.
Source: Sinorama Magazine (Taiwan) | Click to read full article at Sinorama’s Web Site.
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