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2022/10/15

Fire Brand develops hand-held fireworks with paper exterior

Fireworks are one of the most popular summer traditions in Japan. In June of this year, Fire Brand Inc. (Katsuragi Enka), a long-established fireworks manufacturer in Osaka, released "CAMPING HANABI," a hand-held firework specially designed for camping. The company's pyrotechnicians carefully selected fireworks that are suitable for camping from among several hundred types of them- those with low smoke, light, and sound levels. Kraft paper was used for the packaging instead of film or vinyl to improve design and ease of removal. The golden tape used to hold the fireworks inside is also made of paper and can all be incinerated together after use. They are sold at about 60 stores such as glamping facilities and campsites, as well as bookshops and outdoor goods shops nationwide. We asked Yuji Iwamoto of the company's Sales Department about the commercialization of the product in a form never seen in Japan and the company's efforts to develop new markets.

Hand-held fireworks are selling well even during the COVID-19 pandemic
The company was founded in 1950, shortly after the war. The company is headquartered in Osaka city, Osaka Prefecture, and has a factory in Kashiba city, Nara Prefecture. Their main product is toy fireworks. The company has 12 employees. It is also the only firework manufacturer in Osaka.
　"The fireworks business is a difficult industry for new entrants because of necessity to handle explosives. From the point of view of the Fire Service Law, it is difficult to have a fireworks factory in Japan today," said Iwamoto.
　When their company was founded, they manufactured and sold explosive toy fireworks called Maki-Dama and Hira-Dama, and even exported them to the United States. Later, the company established its manufacturing base overseas and currently manufactures in Japan and at a partner factory in China. The company is also one of three manufacturers of firecrackers in Japan. In 1993, the Fireworks Department was established and launched the fireworks business. Since then, they have participated in fireworks festivals, mainly in the Kansai area, including Osaka, Nara, and Hyogo.
　The COVID-19 pandemic hit the domestic fireworks industry. Despite this, demand for surprise and personal fireworks continued, and there were many requests for fireworks displays from individuals and each company, and the company's sales were only halved. At present, sales have recovered to 80% before the pandemic. Nevertheless, according to Iwamoto, the big fireworks shows have returned almost by half this year, but one or two years ago, fireworks shows were canceled across the board, and sales in the entire fireworks industry dropped to 80-90%. While the whole industry was in depression, the sales of hand-held fireworks were better.
　The company decided to develop and roll out a new concept, unprecedented hand-held fireworks under its brand. However, there were also challenges. The industry rule in Japan is that fireworks distributed in home depots must be sold through a fireworks wholesaler. There are not many examples of firework manufacturers directly retailing or marketing fireworks. Therefore, to co-exist with fireworks wholesalers as before, Fire Brand established a new rule not to sell products to places they have been distributed in the past.
　While seeking to develop new markets, the company realized that fireworks are a good match for the outdoor market, such as camping and glamping. In these outdoor places, fireworks such as those sold at home depots have traditionally been brought in and used, but surprisingly, the use of fireworks has not been so widespread.
　Iwamoto said, 'We interviewed campers quite a bit. We found out why fireworks aren't more prevalent in camps: the most camp equipments are fashionable, campers don't want to pack many items, and they are concerned about their surroundings because of the sudden glow and sudden noise fireworks make."
　Other issues raised in the company's previous customer survey on toy fireworks included: plastic and cellophane tape getting tangled in the dark and making it difficult to remove/ the design is not stylish/ it is difficult to clean up waste after playtime/ and there is no need for intense fireworks as people are concerned about the eyes of others. “CAMPING HANABI” solved these problems.

Are fireworks that their contents are invisible can’t be sold well?
The exterior of the CAMPING HANABI is printed in solid earth colors such as light blue, yellow-green, and beige on kraft paper, with the product name printed in large black letters on top. It is easy to take out at night, and when it is opened, fireworks that are also colored beautifully are lined up elegantly.
　"In the Japanese fireworks industry, it's not a good idea to be able to see what's inside, as it's considered 'hard to sell'. It is said that it cannot be sold. However, since we dared to make the contents of the product invisible, we put the word 'HANABI' in large letters on the exterior so that people can see that it is a firework.” said Iwamoto.
　There are four types in line-ups: three major hand-held fireworks – the Japanese “Susuki” sparkler, Sparkler Fireworks, and “Senko” sparkler (containing eight of each), as well as hand-held fireworks set containing 10 “Susuki” sparklers and 10 sparkler fireworks. These fireworks were carefully selected by the company's pyrotechnicians from many fireworks with low smoke, light, and sound. They are all manufactured by a partner company overseas.
　Firstly, the standard hand-held firework, the Japanese "Susuki" sparkler, has gunpowder wrapped in paper. As the name "Susuki" (Japanese silver grass) suggests, sparks that look like ears of silver grass come out energetically with a 'sizzling' sound when it is lit.
　According to Iwamoto, usually, they produce much smoke, but these products make less. The detail is a trade secret, but the shape differs from that of most products.
　Next, Sparkler fireworks - sometimes called 'sparks' or 'sparkles' - are made of kneaded gunpowder wrapped around a rod. When ignited, it burns on its axis around the rod, sending sparks shaped like snowflakes bouncing around and flying in all directions. This type, which produces relatively little smoke, was carefully selected for its lighting. The color of the light is gold.
　And the Japanese “Senko” sparkler, which has low gunpowder content and very little smoke and sound, is carefully selected with a particular focus on paper. That's because the way the paper is twisted determines how well the “Senko” sparkler keeps its fire.

Selected for the Japan Packaging Design Award
In July this year, the "CAMPING HANABI display set," which includes the product and utensils, was selected for the first screening of the Japan Package Design Award 2023 (Home Care & Electrical Appliances and Sundries category). As for the difficulties encountered in the packaging production, Iwamoto told us, "The combination of color printing on kraft paper made it difficult to adjust the colors, as the colors vary, and the texture cannot be produced evenly."

Started with no market to sell
The product was completed in March this year, but there was no market. During this situation, they exhibited at the International Kyoto Gift Show 2022, also held in March. In the exhibition, they received by people from different industries besides the fireworks industry. On the other hand, Iwamoto said that they were perplexed by the difference in "business practices."
　“I don't have much to negotiate with the people involved in the fireworks business. We are just placing a fixed quantity in a fixed place. This time, however, the wholesale multiplier (the percentage of the retail price when wholesaling the product) differs greatly from industry to industry, and it took us a long time to reconcile the two. It's hard to expand sales channels.”
　They started with zero sales outlets and expanded to about 60 outlets in six months. 'We are selling well to glamping and camping facilities. Otherwise, next year will be the year for us", Iwamoto said.
　He told us about Fire Brand’s future prospective. “CAMPING HANABI is a stylish product, easy to clean up and easy to play with. Although it is slightly more expensive than ordinary hand-held fireworks, I hope that customer will feel the added value and traditional Japanese culture, and that the culture of using fireworks in camping will take root. We would like to see this product being used by people who are not used to fireworks or who are aware of the SDGs. We would like to do our best to make it permeate as a cooperative item in the area of enriching people's hearts and minds."

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