On Jan. 7, red milk cartons debuted at stores nationwide, with dairy farmers and retailers hoping the new brand will boost consumption, which has been down since contaminated milk products sickened thousands of people three years ago.
Shinichi Sugitani, 61, president of the newly launched Nippon Milk Community Co., said in a recent interview that his firm is seeing a solid response to its Megmilk brand products.
"We are receiving much better responses than expected," he said. "We cannot have specific figures until the end of the month, but buyers from supermarkets and convenience stores are telling us that Megmilk is enjoying brisk sales."