Sushi Master Set

From a gap in the market to a sold-out product.

Market research found no high-end sushi-making kit with a thorough guide, and buyers willing to pay for presentation and quality. I created the product, the brand and the launch: a premium set designed from the box to the booklet, sold out in its first year.

My contribution: Market research, product development, packaging and go-to-market
The brand: The Asian Table, created by me
The scope: Market and competition research
Product concept, sourcing and set contents
Box, guide and label design
Brand and website
Amazon and Etsy launch
Films and seasonal campaigns

Start with the gap.

I researched sushi-making kits across Amazon, Etsy, eBay and other marketplaces. Most were basic bundles of bamboo tools. None offered a high-end kit with a thorough, comprehensive guide to making sushi. The same research showed that buyers would pay about $50 for a kit with the presentation and quality to match.

Build the set the research asked for.

The answer was a complete set: everything needed to make sushi, in one box. Two ceramic trays and rests, bamboo chopsticks, two rolling mats and a rice spoon, in natural bamboo and dishwasher-safe ceramic, plus a guide. I found the manufacturer, specified every piece and took the set into production.

A blue-and-white floral ceramic sauce tray with a dark rim — Ceramic sauce tray

A small oval blue-and-white floral ceramic chopstick rest — Ceramic chopstick rest

A natural bamboo rice spoon, the shamoji — Bamboo rice spoon

A natural bamboo rolling mat, the makisu, partly rolled — Bamboo rolling mat

Make the box worth keeping.

The set is a gift first, so the box does the introducing. A black lid with a tone-on-tone floral pattern and one framed title gives the kit a calm, upscale presence. A UV varnish finish makes the pattern catch the light, so the box stands out from every other sushi set on the market. The film below shows the varnish in full effect, and the die-cut layout shows how the lid was prepared for production.

Sushi Master Set box lid artwork: black with a tone-on-tone floral pattern and a framed SUSHI MASTER SET title — Box lid artwork. One framed title on a tone-on-tone floral pattern.

Die-cut layout for the Sushi Master Set box showing the printed lid and the base with fold and cut lines — Die-cut layout prepared for production.

Teach the ritual.

The Sushi Master Guide is the piece the market was missing. It walks through cooking the rice and rolling the classics, step by step, with photos. I designed the whole booklet. Its cover repeats the box's framed title and carries the same UV varnish, and the opening page sets the tone: the beginning of a journey into making sushi your way. The back lists what is inside and how to care for it.

Sushi Master Guide cover: black with the framed title SUSHI MASTER, GUIDE TO SUSHI — The guide repeats the box’s framed title.

Opening page of the guide: This is the beginning of your journey into the wonderful world of making Sushi your way, beside bamboo chopsticks, a bamboo spoon and a ceramic tray — The opening page invites the first roll.

Back of the guide listing what the set includes, care instructions and The Asian Table signature — The back lists the contents and how to care for them.

The opened Sushi Master Set with the guide booklet above the ceramic trays, chopsticks and spoon — Everything in its place, guide first.

The guide in use: Sushi Date Night

The product film. A couple opens the box, follows the guide and makes sushi together.

Bring the box to life.

Two short films carry the identity into motion: the framed title with the UV varnish in full effect, and an unboxing that shows every piece in its place.

The Sushi Master Set mark in motion

The UV varnish in full effect, catching the light across the floral and the framed title.

Opening the Sushi Master Set

The unboxing film, with captions for silent viewing.

Sell it where people already search.

The research had shown where the demand was, so the launch went there. Amazon and Etsy listings put the box, the guide and the gift story first, supported by a product film, while the brand's own website and social channels carried the campaigns. The first production run of 5,000 units sold out by Christmas.