The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2025–2026
Zespri rewrites Japan's bento song with a kiwi verse — Spikes Asia 2026 Grand Prix
Zespri and Dentsu add a kiwi verse to Japan's beloved bento-box song — 924% more bento-fruit talk, Spikes Creative Strategy Grand Prix.
Zespri International Japan · Dentsu Inc.
What it had to solve
One in three Japanese adults has nutritionally unbalanced eating habits, yet lunch is the hardest meal to fix. Zespri's Nutrition Reform Project wants kiwi in daily lunchboxes, and generations of Japanese children learned what belongs in a bento from the famous song 'Obentō-bako no Uta' — which lists rice, vegetables and protein but never fruit.
How it works
Zespri's Nutrition Reform Project exists because one in three Japanese adults has nutritionally unbalanced eating habits, according to Ministry of Health 'Health Japan 21' data, and the company has pledged to create six billion servings of healthier meals with kiwi by 2030. The obstacle was cultural: rice, vegetables and protein define the Japanese lunchbox, while fruit barely appears in it.
The insight was hiding in a lullaby. Generations of Japanese children learned what belongs in a bento from the beloved song 'Obentō-bako no Uta' — which sings about rice balls, cherry tomatoes, shiitake and burdock, but never fruit. Dentsu rewrote it as a Reiwa-era 'New! Bento Box Song', swapping hard-to-make items for easy ones and adding the missing verse: 'In the empty space — easy nutrition, kiwi!'
The 60-second film launched on 18 July 2025 on TV and the official YouTube channel, performed by the Zespri Kiwi Brothers puppets with Snow Man's Ryota Miyadate, cast as captain of the 'Fruit-in-Bento Squad' for his well-known cooking hobby. Choreography, making-of videos and a social campaign inviting fans to post fruit-bento photos (with 300 plushie prizes) turned the jingle into a participatory movement, and the song was released as a digital single in October 2025.
After release the film hit #1 on Yahoo! Trends and #2 on X (Twitter) Trends. 'Bento × Fruit' conversations increased 924%, kiwi mentions on Japan's leading nutrition app rose 1.6×, Brand Power reached an all-time high of 19.0%, and Zespri's 'Nutrition × Kiwi' association improved from 11th to 5th. At Spikes Asia 2026 the campaign won the Grand Prix in Creative Strategy (Cultural Engagement) and a Bronze Spike in Healthcare.
Why it lands
- It hijacked a song every Japanese child already sings, so the message arrived inside a beloved ritual rather than as an ad.
- The rewrite was genuinely useful — easy ingredients and a one-kiwi fix — so it worked as nutrition advice, not just a jingle.
- The celebrity was chosen for craft fit (a cooking-loving idol) and the copy was tuned cut-by-cut so fans would spread it.
- The campaign extended into participation — making bentos, sharing photos, buying the song — turning viewers into the distribution.
- One idea lived across TV, YouTube, social, PR and music, so every touchpoint reinforced the same missing-verse narrative.
What it did
The film hit #1 on Yahoo! Trends and #2 on X (Twitter) Trends. 'Bento × Fruit' conversations rose 924%, kiwi mentions on Japan's leading nutrition app grew 1.6×, Brand Power hit an all-time high of 19.0%, penetration reached 25.0%, and Zespri's 'Nutrition × Kiwi' association jumped from 11th to 5th — earning the Creative Strategy Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2026.
What you can take
Instead of asking busy parents to change, change the cultural script their children sing: embed the product into a ritual that already teaches food values, and the habit spreads by itself.
Since then
The 'Fruit-in-Bento Squad' continued as an ongoing franchise with influencer tie-ups and bento goods, and the Kiwi Brothers' CM songs became an annual digital-single release — the 'Bento Box Song' arrived on music stores in October 2025. The campaign became the flagship of Zespri's Nutrition Reform Project at Spikes Asia 2026, taking the Creative Strategy Grand Prix and a Healthcare Bronze, and Dentsu credited it as a model for embedding a brand into a cultural ritual rather than interrupting one.
Sources
- ゼスプリ・キウイブラザーズと宮舘涼太が歌い、踊る、令和版「新！おべんとうばこのうた」
- Spikes Asia 2026発表！ 日本からはマクドナルド、ゼスプリなどがグランプリに
- AOI Pro. Wins Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2026
- ゼスプリ栄養改革プロジェクト
- THE MISSING VERSE: COMPLETING THE BENTO SYMPHONY — Spikes Asia entry
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