Oil-Canned Ayu

Oil-Canned Ayu

Client: Kimura Suisan Co.,Ltd.
Design company: Masahiro Minami Design
Creative Director / Designer: Masahiro Minami

"These are premium quality canned Japanese sweetfish in oil, known as ko-ayu. These small fishes can only be caught from Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan.
While ayu (sweetfishes) from other lakes typically grow larger in size, the sweetfishes in Lake Biwa remain small and have long been a delicacy to the local people of Omi. This canned packaging is designed for such precious fishes in oil. 

For this design, the gold can was a prerequisite; thus, I have arranged a similarly golden sleeve that fits perfectly around the inner can. 
On this sleeve is a small window with a print of the canned fish within. While the fish is printed on paper, its polypropylene cover has a glimmer, giving an impression of the fish in oil. Once the sleeve is removed, the carefully lined sweetfish are revealed.

A toothpick is placed inside for convenience -  for canned food bars are increasingly popular in Japan, where one can casually enjoy some high quality canned food with a drink.
To finish off the packaging, on the backside of the sleeve is a fish shaped opening to display the expiration date."