Since January 2021, Japanese convenience store chain Family Mart ("Famima" for short) has been selling cream puffs devised by store staff working in Hokkaido, Northeast Japan and Kanto region as part of their "Famima Staff-Devised Cream Puff Fair."

The first in the fair was a milk custard and whipped cream cream puff available in Saitama and Chiba Prefectures. Now, in time for Valentine's season, Family Mart is bringing out a "Chocolate Chip Cream Puff" in approximately 7,800 Family Mart stores in the Northern and Eastern Japan areas from February 9, 2021.

The "Chocolate Chip Cream Puff" won first place in a survey of member stores in Hokkaido and Northeast Japan. In developing the product, the store staff and the employees working at the company's regional offices worked together to discuss and taste-test the product, paying close attention not only to the texture and flavor but also to the price, the naming and the packaging.

Comments from the store employee who came up with the idea:

Product information

• Product name (JP): チョコチップシュークリーム
• Product name (EN): Chocolate Chip Cream Puff
• Price: 147 yen (158 yen including tax)
• Release date: Tuesday, February 9, 2021
• Sales area: Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Yamanashi, Nagano, Niigata, Shizuoka (some areas), approximately 7,800 stores (as of December 31, 2020)

(Final product may look different)