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- Cakes / Louis Vuitton / Pigs / Sweets
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It's no rarity to run into adorable sweets in Japan. Whether it be hamster cookies, traditional Pokémon confectionery, or even Totoro cream puffs, you can pretty much count on running into things that seem just too cute to eat.
One that may stand out among the rest is a particularly distinct cake made by Regnie, a Nagoya sweets shop, with a bit of a clever pun for a name that may not be so obvious at first glance. This delightful pig cake is also referred to as the "Louis Vuitton" cake!
One of the questions you may be asking yourself (aside from "how can I eat this pig cake?") is "what does this adorable and glossy pig cake have to do with luxury fashion house powerhouse Louis Vuitton?" and it's a good question, explained by a clever Japanese pun.
The cakes, in Japanese are officially called "ルイ美豚" (Louis Biton), which sounds almost exactly how "Louis Vuitton" is pronounced in Japanese. However, in Japanese "Louis Vuitton" is written as "ルイヴィトン". The "美豚" (Biton) in the cake's name use the kanji for beautiful (美, read as "Bi"), and pig/pork (豚, read as "ton").
So the piggy cakes sound like their are Louis Vuitton sweets, but not. The pun likely references the fancy presentation and luxurious ingredients--tea and blonde chocolate mousse, and kumquat accents that give a sense of a fancy dessert!
According to a Regnie representative we talked to, the cakes were released last year, and the design and pun of a name were chosen in order to make people laugh, as their philosophy is that sweets should come with a smile on the side. While they weren't a hit immediately, they've experienced a boom recently on social media and sell 30 a day on average.
Those interested in pigging out on the adorable and fancy pig cakes can pick up up Takarashimaya on the B1 level of Nagoya Station.