Sushi Kit, 2011

2011 sushi kit produced by the Advanced Fresh Concepts Corporation of California.

The lid advertises the product as having 'everything you need to start making sushi," and displays images of the ingredients within the kit. The company promotes the kit as a gift item. The kit also comes with a "How to Sushi Kit" booklet. The booklet has bamboo in the background with a platter of sushi in the foreground. The platter of sushi consists only of ‘hybrid sushi’, as coined by AFC’s founder Ryuji Ishii, otherwise known as “specialty rolls,” a type of sushi that combines both traditional and non-traditional ingredients. “Rainbow roll,” “California roll,” and “Dragon roll” are only some examples of this type of sushi that were popularized by 2011.

In 1986, AFC Corporation was born with a mission to market fresh packaged sushi to supermarkets in America, a concept revolutionary at the time. The differences in the advertised sushi variety on these kits reflect the changes in consumers’ taste as well as AFC’s marketing strategy based on their understanding of consumer taste. While the differences between the 2001 edition and the 2006 edition suggest a trend towards traditional sushi, the 2011 edition reveals a reversion back to the colorful non-traditional types, which include a variety of mayonnaise based sauces.