Pan no Fes 2025: 4,000 Survey Responses & AI-Powered Insights

Collecting ~4,000 Responses with AI Analysis: HYOUKA Provides Surveys at Japan's Largest Bread Event, 'Bread Festival 2025'

With a trivia-enhanced fun survey UI and AI-powered customer comment analysis, HYOUKA's survey design improved response rates by 3.8x! Post-event interview with Mr. Habano, the mastermind behind this hugely popular event.

Datailo Co., Ltd.'s service HYOUKA provided mobile surveys at the Bread Festival 2025 in Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse, held from March 7-9. We interviewed Mr. Habano, General Producer at PIA Corporation, who serves as the event's overall producer.

HYOUKA Mobile Survey Overview

HYOUKA provided two types of surveys: a pre-experience survey and a post-experience survey. The service included visual design for the survey UI, post-response landing pages, post-event AI analysis, and reporting - a complete all-in-one survey solution.

For collection, staff carefully approached visitors and adjusted their approach based on the situation. Throughout the venue, Smart NFC-enabled signs were strategically placed. By combining these different methods and creating survey touchpoints that matched the flow of visitors, the team collected nearly 4,000 responses over 3 days.

After completing the survey, visitors were guided to specific locations, successfully embedding the survey into the event experience itself. Responses were available through a real-time dashboard, and customer comments were categorized by AI for easy review. Expert staff also provided detailed reporting and analysis, delivering actionable event insights to the organizers.

Interview with Mr. Habano, General Producer of Bread Festival

'Tell us about what kind of event the Bread Festival is.'

Mr. Habano: "It's an event that brings together nearly 100 bakeries and bread-related shops from all over Japan. This year marks our 10th anniversary. Our wish is for visitors to discover their favorite breads. It's not about pushing specific breads, but rather creating a place where people can find breads they love from bakeries across the country."

'Had you conducted surveys in the past? What prompted this collaboration?'

Mr. Habano: "We had conducted surveys in the past, but only through our own internal efforts. With over 150,000 visitors from all age groups and regions across Japan attending over 3 days, we wanted to verify the hypotheses we had been working with as organizers. We also wanted to use the data to improve future events."

'Tell us about the trivia content and the creative efforts made for the users.'

Mr. Habano: "At the Bread Festival, we replace some shops with new ones each year. We adjust the overall composition to ensure even repeat visitors are satisfied. The trivia content was incorporated with the idea of giving bread lovers - who come seeking new information and discoveries about bread - something to enjoy during wait times, helping them make new discoveries."

'What were your impressions and discoveries from the survey results?'

Mr. Habano: "I think it was great that we were able to properly verify our hypotheses and assumptions with data. We also made new discoveries about our visitors, and the results can be immediately applied to things like SNS content. From a response rate perspective, it was 3.8 times higher than when we did it ourselves. The dashboard plus reporting also made things lighter from a resource standpoint."

'How do you plan to use the results going forward?'

Mr. Habano: "Through the AI analysis of free-form comments, I believe the resolution of understanding what customers want has increased. While there were many positive comments, some customers also made requests regarding operations. We want to listen to those voices and make next year's event even better."

Thank you for your cooperation with the interview!

The Bread Festival has been held in Yokohama as Japan's largest bread event since its first edition in 2016. With a cumulative total of over 1.6 million visitors, it is truly a "festival by bread lovers, for bread lovers."