Can you set an alarm to eat?
7-ELEVEN Japanese sub brand Cycle.me not only provides consumers with healthy snacks and drinks, but also uses a small clock to tell consumers the best time to consume the product and urge them to eat "on time".

 
Cycle.me was originally launched by DotMe, a subsidiary of Mitsui Industries in Japan, as a D2C innovative health food brand in 2021. In 2022, Cycle.me began to enter 12 7-ELEVEN stores in Tokyo, Japan and jointly launched the 7-ELEVEN limited edition Cycle.me brand with 7-ELEVEN Japan in June 2023, releasing 12 new "7-ELEVEN limited edition series" products. According to Japanese media reports, Cycle.me currently has over 21000 7-ELEVEN convenience stores across Japan.
Unlike other health food brands, Cycle. me's food development is based on Chrono nutrition, which places more emphasis on "when to eat" rather than "what food to eat.". [1]
People have their own unique "internal clock", and the absorption of nutrients by the human body also follows the law of human "internal clock". Based on this, Cycle.me has targeted the development of foods containing different nutrients for each time period of morning, day, and night, allowing consumers to have the most suitable food choices at each time point to meet the nutritional needs of the body at different times.
It is learned from the official website that Cycle.me's products currently have original series and 7-ELEVEN limited series. The original series currently mainly includes three categories: FRUITY PROTEIN, WORK COOKIE, and MOON MILK, with WORK COOKIE and MOON MILK representing functional foods; The 7-ELEVEN limited range of food products is quite diverse, including staple foods such as powder and soup, as well as beverages, protein bars, chocolate and other snacks.

Cycle.me food has a fixed optimal eating time, and consumers can choose to purchase food that suits them based on their nutritional needs at that time. This undoubtedly makes consumer decision-making more convenient, especially for office workers.
It is reported that the first batch of products launched by Cycle.me, FRUITY Protein, contains 20g of whey protein isolate (WPI). [2] Whey isolate protein is a high concentration whey protein produced using a special manufacturing method, with a protein content of up to 90% and almost free of fat, carbohydrates, and lactose. Therefore, this fruit juice protein beverage can meet the daily needs of ordinary people, as well as the special needs of groups such as lactose intolerance and professional athletes. Cycle.me is a fruit juice protein beverage that not only contains whey protein isolate, but also contains instant energy source glucose and sustainable energy source paraginose, making it a morning energy supplement for consumers.
However, both WORK COOKIE (GABA 28mg) and MOON MILK (GABA 100mg) foods have added different doses of GABA（ γ- Aminobutyric acid. GABA is a natural active ingredient that can help consumers relieve mental stress and improve sleep. Therefore, these two foods are more suitable for consumption during daytime work breaks and before falling asleep at night.

In addition to developing nutritious foods suitable for different times of consumption, Cycle.me has also cleverly conceived product packaging. Cycle.me uses gray as the brand's main color, and the simple gray outer packaging is printed with a small clock icon, basic ingredient information, and food pictures. The simple design combined with fashionable colors makes the product very easy to identify, and consumers can quickly obtain key information from the product packaging to assist in purchasing decisions. The founder of the Cycle.me brand, China, mentioned in a media interview that using packaging with simple design, fashionable colors, and easy to identify is one of the brand's innovations, aimed at conveying the emotional value message of "if you must consume (nutritious and healthy food), be happy".

Dieline also pointed out in her 2024 Packaging Design Trends Report that more and more brands are inclined to eliminate food photography and complex graphics, and choose to use only simple letters to convey brand identity, simplify product identification elements, and emotionally attract consumers in packaging. Eliminating content other than letters from packaging and forming a design system that focuses on key product elements has become a new trend and trend. [5]
The gray small clock packaging of Cycle.me conforms to the trends and trends of the times, while also presenting its unique brand tone, accurately conveying the brand image and product information.