(CNN) — If you order a box of frozen Kobe beef croquettes from Asahiya, a family-run butcher shop in Takasago City in western Japan’s Hyogo Prefecture, it’ll take another 30 years before you receive your order.That isn’t a typo. Thirty. Years.Founded in 1926, Asahiya sold meat products from Hyogo prefecture — Kobe beef included — for decades before adding beef croquettes to the shelf in the years following WWII.But it wasn’t until the early 2000s that these deep-fried potato and beef dumplings became an internet sensation, resulting in the ridiculously long wait buyers now face.An unprofitable business ideaThe highly coveted “Extreme Croquettes” are one of four types of Kobe beef croquettes available at Asahiya. Can’t wait three decades? The shop’s Premier Kobe Beef Croquettes currently have a more palatable four-year waitlist.”We started selling our products through online shopping in 1999,” explains Shigeru Nitta, third-generation owner of Asahiya. “At that time, we offered Extreme Croquettes as a trial.”Growing up in Hyogo, Nitta has been visiting the local ranches and beef auctions with his father since he was young.He took over the shop from his father in 1994 when he was 30 years old.After experimenting with e-commerce for a few years, he realized customers were hesitant to pay a hefty sum for prime beef online.
Source: The Japanese beef croquettes with a 30-year waitlist | CNN Travel
