[Hometown Tax Donation Gift Trends] A Savior in the Era of High Crude Oil and Naphtha Prices! 'Label-less Rice' and 'Super Simplified Packaging Hamburgers' Appear

Satofull Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Hiroaki Fujii), which operates the hometown tax portal site 'Satofull,' introduces trends based on the gift information posted on the site.

**TOPIC 1: As Middle East situation affects regions, new donation gifts are born from Satofull's proposals**

Due to the situation in the Middle East, the soaring price of naphtha has caused price increases for packaging labels and other materials. As a result, many regional gift providers have voiced concerns such as 'materials are hard to obtain' and 'we have no choice but to raise the donation amount.' In response, Satofull is promoting the development of donation gifts that aim to 'provide gifts without burdening either the gift provider or the donor.' Here are two new examples born from this initiative.

The first is 'label-less rice' from Oamishirasato City, Chiba Prefecture. This gift was developed based on a proposal from Satofull's gift development group, inspired by label-less beverage gifts. This 'label-less rice' is offered at a donation amount 500 yen lower than the regularly packaged gift and is featured in the 'Surprising Comparison! Special Donation Amount Gift Feature.' It is a new concept gift that solves issues like high prices and environmental impact.

[2025 Harvest] 2-year consecutive Special A rating! Rice Koshihikari No-wash 10kg (5kg x 2) Wakeari [Oamishirasato City, Chiba Prefecture] Donation amount: 16,500 yen

From Mr. Toshiyuki Saito, Managing Director of Nabeya Shoten Co., Ltd.: 'Affected by the Middle East situation, we are unable to place new orders for rice bags, and we believe the label-less specification can be applied to other varieties. We were anxious about the appearance and product appeal of going label-less, but we were able to take on the challenge by leveraging the unique characteristic of hometown tax donations, where donors can choose with confidence as it is a gift from the municipality. We are concerned that if this situation persists, it will affect not only rice bags but also rice production itself, such as the operation of harvesting machines and the use of rice dryers.'

The second is 'super simplified packaging hamburgers' from Shiraoi Town, Hokkaido. In response to a consultation from the gift provider about 'wanting to raise the donation amount due to the price increase of packaging materials,' the gift development group proposed providing it with simplified packaging. Although it is a popular hamburger made with 100% 'Shiraoi beef,' a representative black wagyu from Hokkaido, by labeling it as 'wakeari' (imperfect), they were able to achieve a donation amount of 13,500 yen.

[Satofull Exclusive] [Wakeari] 100% Beef Beef Village's Beef Hamburgers from Shiraoi Town, Hokkaido [Shiraoi Town, Hokkaido] Donation amount: 13,500 yen

From a representative of Ushi no Sato Co., Ltd.: 'Previously, for packaging materials, we arranged the hamburgers on a tray, but by eliminating the tray and packaging them directly, we were able to reduce costs by about 100 yen, which has helped maintain the offered price. Additionally, by changing the box size from 80 to 60, we not only compressed material costs but also reduced the shipping fees borne by the municipality.'

In hometown tax donations, the number of donations for gifts with 'label-less' in their name in 2025 increased by about 2.2 times compared to the previous year. In addition, the number of registered items increased by more than 4.4 times compared to the previous year. It has been reported that label-less PET bottles were able to reduce CO2 emissions by about 46%, attracting interest from those who are environmentally conscious as well as contributing to the region.

Furthermore, similar to packaging labels, donations in April for 'household plastic wrap,' which is expected to see price increases due to high crude oil prices and supply instability of naphtha, increased by about 9 times compared to the same period last year.

<Effects of high crude oil prices in various regions>

Asahikawa City, Hokkaido - Fujii Co., Ltd. (Rice wholesaler) 'The material cost of rice bags is rising, and we expect it to increase by about 30-40%. Accordingly, we are securing more inventory than usual. If we can't get rice bags at all in the future and have to switch to paper, we would have to pack the rice by hand, which would have a major impact on production itself.'

Yamagata Prefecture - Fruit farmer 'I produce Japanese pears. Due to high crude oil prices, I have no choice but to change from paper wrapping to cardboard packaging.'

Niigata Prefecture - Rice wholesaler 'We are seeing an impact on rice bags. Plastic bags are becoming difficult to obtain due to price hikes and shortages.'

Matsusaka City, Mie Prefecture - Meat processor 'Work gloves and trays are becoming difficult to obtain, and we are concerned about the future impact.'

**TOPIC 2: Amid continued reports of water shortages, demand for large-capacity, tank-type beverages is increasing**

Since the record low rainfall in February 2026, reports of water shortages at dams in various regions have continued.