Japan has a drinking problem… but if you’ve got a thirst for adventure or are looking for new product ideas, it’s where you want to be, according to Steve Levenstein of InventorSpot.

His rundown of the Top Ten Bizarre Japanese Soft Drinks gives a pretty good indication why many of the 1000 or so new soft drinks and beverages launched in Japan every year fail miserably.

But the initiative also reflects the indefatigable ingenuity of food and drink entrepreneurs there, such as this one from the “selling ice to the Eskimos” department:

Diet Water – the soft drink for the soft headed. “None of that rich, fattening Perrier for me, I’m serious about shedding pounds!” Not to mention shedding money. “Diet Water of the rich and famous?” We’re not sure what the appeal of Diet Water is… maybe it has negative calories.

Regarding the Mother’s Milk in a carton product, Levenstein shudders to think of the scene inside one of the manufacturer’s factories “those poor farmgirls, milkmaids or what have you, shackled up to cold, pitiless machines that never, ever stop…” The whole detailed and illustrated list is well-worth a look and often a laugh, but here are the ten winners:

• Pepsi Ice Cucumber: It’s lean, green and sounds obscene
• Hot Calpis: the drink that makes you think — about not drinking it
• Coolpis: Who wouldn’t want to drink something with a name like Coolpis?
• Mother’s Milk: the breast-tasting drink ever!
• Black Vinegar Juice Bar: dispenses acid trips
• Water Salad: for what, we’re not sure…
• Diet Water: all the taste and none of the calories of regular water. Huh?
• Final Fantasy Potion drinks: for those who think life really IS a game
• Canned Coffee = Canned Laughter from the various wacky names
• Kidsbeer: the Popeye Cigarettes of children’s drinks

Source: Steve Levenstein. “The Top Ten Weird and Bizarre Japanese Soft Drinks,” InventorSpot 06/18/07.

Related Post: “Case Studies: Best Food Websites,” EBT Blog 06/03/07.

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