September 7, 2018

When I see the Japanese candies from my childhood, I can vividly recall their flavors. The designs of the wrappers trigger Pavlovian responses. Emotion is the fuel we use to burn information into our memories. Candies, or sweets in general, are associated with a lot of excitement from our childhood. For this reason, changing the designs, no matter how outdated they look, is not a wise marketing strategy.

Pictured above are Russian candies I bought in Brighton Beach. Other than the one with the picture of a pineapple, I have no idea what they taste like. The top ones with the twisted wrappers still look somewhat familiar, and because of it, I still have a mild Pavlovian response even without knowing their flavors.

The bottom ones are wholly unfamiliar to me, so I have no response from looking at them. I could collect them as cute objects and feel no temptation to eat them.

It occurred to me that, perhaps, moving to a foreign country is a good diet scheme. Controlling appetite would be much easier if you can’t imagine the taste from what you see. Although it’s hard to get away from American fast food these days

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