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Pocky: The Iconic Japanese Snack That Conquered the World
Imagine a snack so popular that it has its own unofficial holiday. This is the story of Pocky, a Japanese brand that has crossed borders into nearly all countries in the world. Whether you know it as Pocky, Rocky, or Mikado, there’s a high chance this brand is the best chocolate stick in your area.
Introduction:
Chocolate sticks are some of the most popular sweet snacks in the world. People love the taste of biscuits coated with or filled with delicious chocolate. There are many chocolate stick brands serving the global consumer base. However, one product that has become almost synonymous with chocolate sticks is Pocky. When people think of biscuits coated on one end with chocolate, Pocky tends to come to mind. You’ll find it in convenience stores and supermarkets all over the world, albeit under different names.
The Pocky brand has all of the qualities that make chocolate sticks a global favorite and more. They are simple products, basically made of chocolate and cookies. Perhaps it’s this simplicity that allows the brand to come up with a variety of flavors, using unexpected ingredients like orange peel and azuki bean. In this post, we’ll explore all of the facts about Pocky, including its history, flavors, manufacturing process, and cultural impact. Let’s dive in!
What is Pocky?
Pocky is a Japanese sweet biscuit coated on one side with chocolate. In its basic form, the product consists of several thin, chocolate-coated biscuit sticks. A pocky stick is both creamy and crunchy, thanks to the cookie-chocolate combination fans have come to love over the years.
The Ezaki Glico food processing company created the original Pocky in 1966. Since then, they’ve added dozens of new flavors, such as milk, strawberry, banana, and chocolate. Because each pack contains multiple sticks, Pocky is the perfect snack to enjoy with friends and family. It also has handy and portable packaging, allowing you to enjoy a stick or two on the go. By coating only one side of the stick with chocolate, you don’t have to worry about messy fingers.
Although originating in Japan, Pocky is now a global brand. However, it may be sold under different names, such as Rocky in Malaysia and Mikado in Europe. No matter the name, the product maintains its quality and unique taste.
The History of Pocky
In 1922, Riichi Ezaki established a company named Ezaki Glico Co., Ltd. Their headline product at the time was a glycogen-based candy called Glico Caramel. 44 years after that, Yoshiaki Koma invented Pocky and the company released it in Japan. The name was chosen from the Japanese onomatopoeic word used to describe a snappy sound, pokkiri. Pocky turned out to be a smash hit in Japan, gaining massive popularity as soon as it was released. It didn’t take long for Glico to leverage this popularity by releasing more Pocky products. First came the almond-flavored variant in 1971. Next was the strawberry-coated version, released in 1977.
The Pocky manufacturing process involved manually hand-dipping each stick in creamy chocolate, leaving one end free for the consumer to hold. Although this dipping process has been heavily refined over the years, the snack still maintains its practical handle design. The chocolate biscuit stick brand expanded first to other Asian countries and then to Europe, North America, and Oceania. Today, Pocky is sold in Asian markets all around the world.
Pocky Flavors: From Classic to Unique
Despite its humble beginnings in Japan, Pocky has become a multimillion-dollar brand enjoyed by people all over the world. Gilco has launched hundreds of different Pocky flavors since 1966. Some of them are still on the market today, while others were limited editions or discontinued products. Let’s explore the existing Pocky flavors, from popular global releases to unique regional flavors.
Global Pocky Flavors
We’ll begin by exploring the range of Pocky flavors available in most countries, including Japan and the US. The following are the most popular Pocky flavors on the market:
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Chocolate: Based on the original Pocky chocolate product, this classic flavor is simple yet outstanding. You can enjoy it alone as an everyday snack or pair it with coffee, milk, tea, ice water, wine, or whiskey.
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Strawberry: This flavor is one of the earliest releases after Pocky’s classic chocolate release. It uses a special cream made from ripe strawberries.
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Crunchy Strawberry: Glico combined chocolate and strawberry flavors to create this hybrid flavor. It also contains real strawberry pieces and packs a reasonable crunch.
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Banana: This is another combo flavor (chocolate-banana). It’s made by mixing banana cream with light cocoa. Pocky’s banana flavor is perfect as an everyday, fruity snack.
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Almond Crunch: By combining milk chocolate with premium roasted almonds, Glico has created a global favorite in Pocky Almond Crush. This is a modern take on the Almond-flavored classic Pocky, released in 1971. It also has one of the lowest calorie contents among other flavors.
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Matcha Green Tea: This flavor brings Japan’s love for green tea to the rest of the world. It’s a perfect blend of powdered matcha and smooth cream.
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Cookies and Cream: One of the latest Pocky flavors, Cookies and Cream, includes bits of crunchy cookies mixed with sweet cream.
Regional Pocky Flavors
Pocky has regional variations in different countries, but none are as exclusive as the ones in Japan. The following are some of the best of these regional flavors:.
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Yubari Melon: Yubari is a city in Hokkaido Prefecture famous for the delicious and highly fragrant melons that grow in the region. This Pocky flavor is made using the juice from melons sourced from Yubari. Hence, it’s only available in Hokkaido, Japan.
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Shinshu Kyoho Grape: This product uses juicy Kyoho grapes, which are grown in Nagano, Japan. It’s the perfect blend of sweet, sour, complex, and aromatic flavors.
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Giant Mikan: Mikan is a small, tangerine-like citrus fruit grown in Japan. The Giant Mikan Pocky flavor was released in the Kyūshū region.
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Yuzu: The tart yuzu-flavored Pocky is exclusive to Miyazaki prefecture. The yuzu used to make the juice for the cream is also sourced from Miyazaki.
Pocky Day: Celebrating Japan's Favorite Snack
At the start of this post, we mentioned that Pocky had its own holiday. Now, we'll explain how and why this bizarre holiday exists. Pocky Day is an annual snack celebration dedicated to the Pocky candy brand. It falls on November 11 every year and is celebrated in Japan.
The event began in 1999, when the folks at Glico had the idea to declare November 11 as the day to celebrate their most successful snack brand. They chose that date because, when written as “11/11,” it resembles four side-by-side sticks of Pocky.
Although Pocky Day is not an official public holiday, millions of people are happy to partake however they can. They play Pocky-themed games, make desserts with the cookie, share packs with friends, and post about the event on social media.
How Pocky is Made
In this section, we’ll give you a sneak peek into Pocky’s manufacturing process. The process in a Glico factory is almost entirely automated with special machines. It all starts with the formation of batter by mixing flour, sugar, water, salt, and other ingredients. The batter is fed into a machine that turns it into multiple long strands. The strands are then cut into short sticks, which will later become the biscuit sticks.
Once the biscuits are ready, a machine coats them in white chocolate, dark chocolate, or any other flavor. Coated Pocky sticks are grouped and wrapped in Gilco signature packaging. They are then organized into larger boxes and sent to the warehouse. There, the cartoons of Pocky products will sit until a Glico truck arrives to distribute them to retailers and wholesalers.
Cultural Impact of Pocky in Japan
After its launch in 1966, Pocky successfully embedded itself in Japanese culture, thanks to its irresistible taste, simple practical design, and iconic packaging. Having been a household treat from one generation to the next, Pocky brings feelings of nostalgia to adults, especially members of the older generation. People in the country eat it as a snack at work, school, and even bars. The cookie promotes the act of sharing food among friends and family. They also use it as a party or bar snack, as an ice cream garnish, and as decorations for desserts. On Pocky Day, stores and supermarkets stock up on Pocky products to meet the incredible demand. The cookie has also appeared in popular media over the years.
Global Reach of Pocky
Pocky has transcended its Japanese origins to become a popular snack worldwide. However, the brand has sometimes had to adapt its flavors, packaging, and name to meet international tastes. You’ll find it in nearly all Asian countries, including China, Korea, the Philippines, and Singapore. The snack was sold in Malaysia under the name “Rocky” for five years until it was reverted to its original name and design in 2014.
People in France, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and other parts of Europe know the snack as “Mikado.” The European version change is primarily because it operates under the license of Mondelēz International.
Buying Pocky in Japan: Best Places and Exclusive Finds
You can find Pocky in most supermarkets, convenience stores, and specialty stores in Japan. These establishments stock different flavors of the brand, including limited-edition versions. Feel free to make it a tradition to visit the local stores whenever you visit a new prefecture in Japan. You might find some exclusive regional varieties there.
One of the most convenient ways to buy Pocky within and outside Japan is to shop at an online store. We highly recommend that you explore the Sugoi Mart Pocky collection. It contains different kinds of Pocky snacks, from popular classics to extremely rare versions.
Conclusion:
Pocky’s status as a cultural icon in Japan is only part of its appeal. The brand keeps finding new ways to enhance its global appeal, whether it’s through targeted rebranding or by releasing exclusive products. That and its ability to maintain relevance through generations make Pocky one of the most profitable food brands in Japan.
If you love Japanese snacks, you’ll love what awaits you when you open a Bokksu-curated snack box. We’ve got the best authentic snacks from Japan. Get a Snack Box subscription and we’ll send you a box of treats every month.
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