Nobukazu Hayashi, who joined Nagoya-based major bread manufacturer Fuji Baking in 1976, remembers ¡°an unusual kind of bread¡± being put out at his company dormitory.

¡°It¡¯s interesting,¡± he thought, after trying the sweet bread offered as a sample. It was one of the firm¡¯s Snack Sand sandwich products, released on Sept. 15, 1975.

The product consisted of two crustless slices of bread sealed on all four sides to enclose a variety of fillings. This easy-to-carry sandwich, which doesn¡¯t spill its contents even on the go, soon became a hit in Japan.