Do western style souvenir sweets represent Hokkaido?

At the souvenir shops at Hokkaido’s airport, sweets are aligned in front. This arrangement is said to contribute to sales. The prices are reasonable, and the products are easy carry and pass around. Most are western style confectionaries for some reason.
Words by Sonoko Fukae, food writer
Translation by Xene Inc.

In other areas of Japan, sweets which are backed with hundreds of years of history have become famous and are used as souvenirs. In Hokkaido however, hot-selling sweets are not only manufactured as souvenirs, but are designed and developed as souvenirs.

Requirements for a souvenir sweet are completely different than something from a cake shop. For example if I choose fresh cake, I want to buy something hand-made and seasonal, and will keep it cool while taking it home. On the other hand, for a souvenir sweet, consistent quality, durability, light, and a longer expiration date is desired. More than anything else, everyone wants something "Hokkaido-like". There is an image of Hokkaido as western-style agriculture and dairy products, and most souvenir sweets have been established by using raw materials from Hokkaido, so there is a certain amount of reality in the types of food available.

At that point, I guess western-style souvenir sweets promote that image of Hokkaido, so they aren't so bad. After all, western-style sweets made in Japan were the start that inspired Japanese to visit a foreign land.

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