Tokyu Department Store Launches First Separate Summer Gift Catalog “Gohobi Palette” on May 15

Tokyu Department Store will begin accepting orders for its summer gifts and its first separate catalog, “Gohobi Palette,” through Tokyu Department Store Online Shopping from Friday, May 15. For last year’s summer gifts, the ice cream category recorded 110% year-on-year sales, while the eel category reached 107%, reflecting strong demand for gifts suited to the prolonged record heat. This year, the company is launching “Gohobi Palette,” a new line first unveiled for the 2025 winter gift season, as its first separate catalog in A4 format with 20 pages. Under the concept “Delicious colors to gift myself,” the catalog offers a wide range of items one would want to send to oneself, from chilled summer-colored sweets to authentic gourmet foods that require little preparation. Buyers and producers carefully selected ingredients and developed products across seven themes. The release highlights three notable angles from the seven themes, recommended products selected through tasting by Tanabe Chika of the comedy group Borujuku, known as the entertainment world’s sweets queen, and recommendation points from chefs and food gift buyers. Key points of “Gohobi Palette” include Tanabe’s tasting selections with comments published exclusively online; the launch of the first separate catalog featuring seven themes such as picture-perfect sweets, chilled summer-colored desserts, and regional travel snacks; recommendation points from chefs and buyers; order and delivery details; and new store opening and pop-up information. Tanabe’s recommended products include Imojiro Original’s “Ice Imo Karin,” a six-piece set priced at 4,500 yen. This sweet potato dessert from Aichi Prefecture has a crispy surface and moist inside, coated with the natural syrup of sweet potatoes without using sugar, and is enjoyed frozen. Tanabe commented that she loves sweet potatoes so much she even grows them in Fukuoka, and praised the product’s sweetness made only from sweet potato syrup, its crispy skin and smooth, sticky interior, calling it a new kind of texture and flavor. Kurakichi’s “KURAKICHI Akita Fruit Cookie Tin Summer Assortment,” priced at 6,480 yen, is an assortment of carefully baked cookies made with fruits from Akita Prefecture and other ingredients. Tanabe said the tin is extremely cute, and that it lets her enjoy Akita after she had no time to buy sweets during a recent shoot there. She recommended pairing the cookies with tea, saying the fruitiness would turn into fruit tea in the mouth. Cheesecake Lab Seed’s “Layer Cheesecake,” a six-piece set priced at 5,980 yen, layers brown rice flour sponge made from pesticide-free rice with special cheese cream and crunchy crumble cookies. Tanabe said the cross-section is delightful, the cheese cream is elegantly sweet, light, and smooth, and that despite being a frozen product, the cream tastes fresh and fluffy after thawing. She also noted its strong visual appeal for family gifts. Among the seven catalog themes, three are highlighted. Theme 1, “Beautiful, Cute, Happy!” gathers visually charming sweets that lift the mood just by looking at them, including Nakatsu Kashi Kanei’s Rare Cheese Mizu Manju, bon appetit ICHIRIKI’s fresh dorayaki dessert bon appetit, and Yogurt Four Seasons’ Yogurt Summer Cookie Tin. Theme 2, “COOL & Cool,” is a new theme featuring stylish and chilled summer-colored sweets. It was created after the strong performance of the ice cream category in the 2025 summer gift season, with sales reaching 110% year on year. Products include Toshi Yoroizuka’s Verrine Vert, Petit Plum’s Fresh Peach Gelee, and J.sweets Harmony’s Ice Candy Assortment. Theme 3, “Quick and Satisfying Lunch,” is also new and targets people who want a satisfying lunch without extra effort. Featured products include Kanazawa Asadaya’s Bukkake Somen Assortment, Yamaya’s Mentaiko French Bread, and Jojoen’s Special Wagyu Yakiniku Rice Burger. Chef recommendations include Maison Givree’s Tokyu Department Store-exclusive “Miyazaki Fully Ripened Mango Ice Cake,” priced at 5,400 yen. Chef Hiroyuki Emori explained that the topping is not frozen mango; instead, fresh mango is made into sorbet, flattened, cut into cubes, and reconstructed to look like peeled mango. He hopes customers enjoy the surprise of something that looks and tastes like mango but is actually sorbet. He recommends letting it sit briefly after cutting so the surface becomes slightly glossy, and pairing it with hot coffee or tea. Tokyu Department Store food gift buyer Yui Tomizawa said that last year’s heat-focused gifts such as ice cream and eel received strong support. This year, the company aims to further refine that strength while offering more casual gifting proposals through “Gohobi Palette,” such as gifts for oneself or small expressions of daily gratitude. The lineup also includes more accessible price points for a wider range of occasions, from small thank-you gifts to personal rewards. Order periods are as follows: Tokyu Department Store Online Shopping from Friday, May 15, 2026 to Monday, August 10 at 3:00 p.m., with a reduced extended sales period from August 1 to 10; telephone, mail, and fax orders from May 15 to July 31 at 4:00 p.m.; and in-store orders from June 1 to July 31, with dates varying by store. Participating stores include Shibuya Tokyu Food Show, Kichijoji, Tama-Plaza, Machida Tokyu Twins, Hiyoshi Tokyu Avenue, Futako-Tamagawa Tokyu Food Show, Aobadai Tokyu Food Show, and Sapporo. New store openings include Boulanger Asanoya at Tokyu Food Show Edge from May 15, and Spicier from May 31, offering spice chai, Indian curry bread, and spice-rich baked sweets. Pop-ups include Bomnaren, a dessert brand making its first appearance in Shibuya; Patisserie L’Arche, appearing at Tokyu Food Show Edge for the first time; scone specialty shop ino, appearing at Toyoko Noren-gai for the first time; and SUGARFOLIA, making its Shibuya debut.