A Japanese department store has apologised after hundreds of customers received collapsed strawberry Christmas cakes.
Several hundred customers who ordered the "strawberry frill shortcake" later complained the cake had arrived damaged.
Photos shared online showed the delivered cake seemingly squished, half-melted or with strawberries sliding off inside the box.
Takashimaya, a major department store chain, said it had received orders for about 2,900 cakes from September 20 to December 9, according to Yomiuri Shimbun.
The cake, which featured layers of chiffon, fresh strawberries and "frilled" white icing, coast 5,400 yen ($55.71) each.
Most cakes were delivered on Saturday, December 23. By 1pm the following day, it said it had received around 220 complaints.
It's been reported more than 800 of the delivered cakes were damaged.
One customer, who later received a refund, said they had been "in shock since Christmas morning".
"My mum said she ordered a cake at Takashimaya … so I checked," they wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
"I was looking forward to it.
"Bye bye, Takashimaya cake. I really, really wanted to eat fresh cream and strawberry cake. I just wanted to eat it."
The company called a public press conference to apologise, and said it was investigating the cause.
"We sincerely apologise to our many customers for the disappointment caused by the collapse of the frozen Christmas cake we sold, and for the concern this caused to many customers," a spokesperson said.
"It is impossible to determine to cause of the problem.
"The fact that we could not establish a management system to identify the cause of this incident was also a problem for us.
"We will work to prevent a recurrence."
According to The Japan Times, the cakes were made under the supervision of a French restaurant in Yokohama.
Japanese media has since speculated the delay in strawberry imports this year could be the cause.
The delay meant the cakes were only frozen for 20 to 25 hours instead of for two weeks.
However, Takashimaya has said pre-testing showed the shortened hours were unlikely to be the reason for the damaged cakes.
By Brianna Morris-Grant
Original article link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-28/japan-takashimaya-christmas-cake/103269792
