Laser-cut nori rolls enable sushi with a designer touch

Japanese Umino Seaweed Shop created rolls of nori that are laser-cut in designer patterns.

It’s been an ongoing theme here at Springwise over the years that there are very few product categories that can’t benefit from a style-infused upgrade. Case in point? Japanese Umino Seaweed Shop’s rolls of nori that are laser-cut in designer patterns. Sales of nori reportedly took a downturn following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of 2011. In response, international ad agency I&S BBDO created for Umino its new line of designer nori: seaweed for sushi that’s laser-cut into artistic, designer patterns. Five precut designs are available — including “sakura,” featuring cherry blossoms, and “mizutama,” or water drops — each reportedly based on an element of Japanese history or symbology. Umino’s designer nori was on exhibition earlier this year at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum in Tokyo and pricing on the nori rolls is reportedly JPY 840 each, according to a Design Boom report. How could your brand infuse its products with a similar splash of style? Spotted by: Denise Kuperman