This is the first store of the OIMON brand, perfecting the art of new “sweet potato treats”, integrating local ingredients and food culture of Kagoshima Prefecture. Its signature product is a freshly baked sweet potato cake with the flavor of komikan (small mandarin oranges). Upon designing the store, we visited local producers and factories within the prefecture, traveling around sweet potato fields, sweet potato processing factories, craft gin distilleries, and Sakurajima komikan orange groves. The highlight of our research trip was the sight of sweet potatoes being pulled out from the fertile soil of Kagoshima. The process of digging deep into the soil while feeling out the sweet potatoes with hands reminded us of a common thread shared with the attitude of the brand OIMON, which deep-dives into the exploration of creating treats using sweet potatoes.

The storefront fixture, made of locally-sourced cedarwood bent into a rhythm of concaves and convexes, resembles ridges and furrows in sweet potato fields. Thin strips of caramelized sweet potatoes are represented by the shimmering surface of fiberglass-resin coated grain of cedarwood with a thin layer of fiberglass on top. The design was born out of a desire to transform the local cedarwood into a material not only unique to the local region but also delicious-looking. Boxes of the OIMON treats are lined up between the curvy ridges.

Boxes of sweets are also nestled among the many holes puncturing the earthen plaster wall. The size of the storefront signage resembles that of beni-satsuma (red sweet potatoes), portraying their vines being pulled up. The concrete stool represents a mound of soil. By coating it with fiberglass resin, the concrete is also given a soft, delicious-looking texture as if caramelized.

Everything expresses digging, feeling through the soil with hands, and the delicious food nurtured in the Kagoshima climate.
We would be happy if customers could experience the fresh sensation of “digging” up undiscovered charms hidden within the earth.

OIMON is the first regional brand from BAKE Inc., which has developed BAKE CHEESE TART shops (specializing in freshly baked cheese tarts) and PRESS BUTTER SAND shops (specializing in buttercream sandwich cookies). OIMON’s signature product, freshly baked sweet potato cake with the flavor of komikan oranges, is prepared fresh in the store. Shortbread encases a mandarin-flavored sweet potato paste, made from beni-satsuma sweet potatoes, topped with caramelized strips of sweet potatoes. Thin strips of sweet potatoes are used for Kagoshima’s local dish called “gane” (sweet potato tempura). Locals are proud of the nostalgic taste of the gane. In addition, the company further pursues a new style of “sweet potato treats” by using local ingredients and incorporating the local food culture, such as the brushing on a hint of crafted gin made from Sakurajima komikan oranges, to add flavor.

「焼きたて小みかん香る薩摩芋ケーキ」が看板商品の「薩摩スイーツ」を追求する新ブランド「OIMON（オイモン）」。その1号店の計画です。最初に、サツマイモ畑やジン蒸留所、桜島小みかん畑など、県内の原材料の産地を巡りました。その中でも、サツマイモ畑の豊かな土に手を潜らせて、イモを探り、ツルごと掘り上げる、胸高まる体験が心に強く残りました。それから自宅でもサツマイモを栽培してみました。水はけ良く畝は高めに、芋を太らせるためツル返しをして。最後はアライグマに全て食べられてしまいましたが、土の中の見えない姿を想像することがデザインのヒントになるのではないかと考えました。

地元の杉を曲げた天板はサツマイモ畑の畝に見立て、まさにウネウネです。それをガラス繊維樹脂でコーティングし、キャラメリゼした照り輝やくお菓子の様子を表しました。畝りを持たせた形状は区画間口の狭さを感じさせないことも狙いでした。

壁には、サツマイモが土から顔をのぞかせているような、穴の棚を設けました。ロゴサインはサツマイモに見立てた大きさで、芋ツルを引っ張り上げる様子からの発想です。スツールは打設コンクリートにガラス繊維樹脂でキャラメリゼを施し、柔らかでおいしそうに変化させました。

いずれも土の中に眠る、まだ見ぬ魅力を想像して、掘り・触れるような感覚を表現しました。それは「OIMON」の「薩摩スイーツ」を追求する姿とも重なると考えています。