Japan food industry responds to penny-pinching shoppers

Japan's food companies are coming up with a range of budget-priced offerings as shoppers seek relief from increasing food prices.

Supermarket chain Aeon says it is capping the price of its boxed meals by cutting the number of ingredients.

One meal of fried noodles doesn't contain meat or vegetables, but the amount of noodles has tripled. The company says the product is selling better than expected.

Aeon plans to repeat the success with a soba lunch box. It will contain double the amount of buckwheat noodles, with no garnishes.

Stores are also getting in on the trend by using an online platform to offer bargain-priced leftover products.

A Tokyo sandwich store offers deals. A university student bought three sandwiches for 800 yen, or about 5 dollars. That's less than half the usual price.

"The service is quite helpful, because university students need money for other expenses," he said.

The online service provider says the number of users has grown this year by more than 10,000 every month.