"Shokupan" – Japanese Bread Sweeps Britain!

The Guardian reported that “shokupan,” or Japanese milk bread, has become the latest food trend in Britain after its videos garnered millions of views on social media platforms.

The British newspaper noted that clips of Japanese milk bread amassed millions of views, along with thousands of comments and shares on TikTok, driven by images of the golden loaves and their exceptionally soft texture, before the phenomenon spread from smartphone screens to British bakeries, restaurants, and shops.

The figures reveal the scale of the trend: according to the British supermarket chain Waitrose, searches for “Japanese milk bread” on its website surged by 617% within a single month, while sales of the bread rose by 27% during the same period. Emily Wolfman, Head of Global Product Development at Waitrose, described the rise of milk bread as one of the most exciting food trends to move from social media into mainstream kitchens, noting that its spread was not driven by video clips alone, but also by popular burger chains and Asian bakeries in London.