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 Sticks of original (chocolate) Pocky | |
| Place of origin | Japan |
|---|---|
| Created by | Glico |
| Invented | 1966; 59 years ago (1966) |
| Main ingredients | Biscuit stick,chocolate |
Pocky (ポッキー,Pokkī,Japanese pronunciation:[poꜜkkiː]ⓘ)/ˈpɒki/ is a Japanese sweetsnack food produced by theEzaki Glico food company. Pocky was first sold in 1966,[1] and was invented by Yoshiaki Koma.[2] It consists of coatedbiscuit sticks. It was named after the Japaneseonomatopoeic wordpokkiri (ポッキリ), which is supposed to resemble the sound of the snack being cracked.[3]
The original chocolate-coated Pocky was followed by an almond-coated variant in 1971, and a strawberry coating in 1977. Today, the product line includes variations in the flavored coatings, such asmilk,mousse,matcha (green tea),honey,banana,cookies and cream,strawberry andcoconut, and themed products such as "Decorer Pocky", with colorful decorative stripes in the coating, and "Men's Pocky", a "mature" dark (bittersweet) chocolate version.
Pocky is a very popular treat in Japan, especially among teenagers.[citation needed] In bars, it is sometimes served with a glass of ice water or milk.[3] It also has a significant presence in otherAsian countries, such asChina,South Korea,Thailand,Indonesia, thePhilippines,Laos,Malaysia,Singapore,Hong Kong,Taiwan,India,Burma,Brunei andVietnam.[4] In Malaysia, Pocky was sold under the name "Rocky" for five decades. It was rebranded under the name "Pocky" in 2014, along with a new package design and slogan. Commercials featuring Malaysian singerYuna, also began to air in 2015 in order to give brand recognition and a sales boost.[5][6]
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InEurope, Pocky is produced under license byMondelēz International and sold under the name "Mikado" inAustria,Belgium,France,Germany,Greece,Italy,Ireland,Luxembourg,Spain,Switzerland, theNetherlands and theUnited Kingdom.[7] "Mikado" can be found at most supermarkets[citation needed] and many international food stores.[citation needed]
In theUnited States andCanada, Pocky can be found inAsian supermarkets and the international section of most large supermarkets; such retailers includeWorld Market,H-E-B,Wegmans,Kroger,Jungle Jim's International Market,Costco,Walmart (in the Asian foods aisle), someTarget stores, someWalgreens,Meijer,Fiesta,Barnes & Noble, andanime convention dealers' rooms. In the United States, Pocky is marketed both byLU (in chocolate andpeanut butter flavors), and by Ezaki Glico's American division, Ezaki Glico USA Corporation (in chocolate and strawberry flavors).[citation needed]
InAustralia andNew Zealand, it is usually sold in Asian convenience markets, along with other Asian foods and products. Like theUnited States andCanada these are also widely available in the international sections on the Asian food aisles of most supermarket chains. Specialty importers also exist inAustralia andNew Zealand.[citation needed]
InTurkey, Pocky is produced byÜlker and Şölen, under Biskrem Bi'stik and Biscolata Stix name.[citation needed]
In 2020, Pocky was certified by Guinness World Records as the "largest chocolate-coated biscuit brand" after hitting over 500 million dollars in sales in the past year.[8]
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Pocky can be found in dozens of varieties such aschocolate,strawberry, andalmond. Some of the more unusual flavors include the seasonal flavors of honey (spring) andkiwifruitmango (summer). The bittersweet version of chocolate Pocky is known as Men's Pocky. Regional flavors of Pocky includegrape (Nagano),yūbari melon (Hokkaidō), giantmikan (tangerine, sold in theKyūshū region), powdered teaazuki bean (Kyoto), Kobe wine (Kobe), and five-fusion berry (Goka). Also, flavors such asbanana,lychee,coffee,caramel, marble royal milktea,melon,Daim bar (sold in the UK),milk, honey and milk,cream cheese,berry,sweet potato,coconut, crush (crunchy cracker pieces in chocolate), corn on the cob,pineapple,pumpkin, kurogoma (blacksesame), kinako (soybean flour), Brazilian pudding, cherry, tomato, orange,mikan,blueberry, apple yogurt,hazelnut, mixed berry andgreen tea are available.
The latest flavors are special editions, 2 two-tone flavors in a larger box than chocolate or strawberry Pocky provides ( Special Editions: 2.47 oz. [70 g], Normal Pocky: 1.41 oz. [40 g]). The 2 newest flavors arecookies and cream and banana chocolate. Both have brown biscuit sticks (in the chocolate banana Pocky case, the biscuit is the chocolate and banana cream.) Thecookies and cream consists of blended chocolate biscuit cookies with a slight chocolaty flavor of the biscuit.
Special variations of Pocky include Decorer Pocky (which features extra decorative icing) and Mousse Pocky (which features extra-thick, "creamy" mousse-like icing and is more exclusive). Unlike other Pocky variations, Mousse Pocky packages contain only nine per pack, fewer pieces than regular Pocky.
Dessert Pocky features Pocky sticks covered in a generous helping of cream. These flavors include Double Chocolate, Tiramisu, Chocolate Banana, Marron White, Chestnut, Strawberry Shortcake, andOrange. Dessert Pocky usually comes with five packets in a box with three in each sleeve.
Another variation of Pocky is the My Calorie Pocky (マイ カロリー ポッキー,mai karorī pokkī), which has one-fourth the calories of regular chocolate Pocky.
Other variations include Pocky G (marketed as being "hard and rich"), Giant Pocky (strawberry- and chocolate-flavored; each box contains 20 individually wrapped sticks with real dried strawberry; each stick is about 10" long, and about three times the diameter of a normal Pocky stick), Giant Dream Pocky (box of 20 individually wrapped 10" sticks; each stick is in one of the five featured flavors of melon, grape, green tea, strawberry or standard chocolate), Sakura Pocky (limited edition that is part of the Luxury Chocolatier sub-group; each stick is coated with pinkcherry blossom essenced chocolate sprinkled with a bit of salt), Reverse Pocky (cracker on the outside with the filling in the middle), Fortune-Telling Pocky (each stick contains a "fortune"), and Pocky Cake (a literal cake shaped to look like a Pocky stick. Each cake contains, according to its packaging,raisins, chocolate cream, orange peel, and an Italian cake batter).
A recent Limited Edition Pocky is called Otona no Kohaku or "Adult Amber" Pocky, which is bitter chocolate slightly salted, and meant to be used as an aperitif paired with whiskey. These are sold in a cylindrical canister containing six packages.
A product related to Pocky isPretz, which is an unglazed version of Pocky, featuring flavors liketomato,pizza, andsalad, as well as sweet flavors such as cocoa andFrench toast.
In 1984, following threats bythe Monster with 21 Faces to poison Glico confections and the resulting mass withdrawal of Glico products from shelves, a man wearing aYomiuri Giants baseball cap was caught placing Glico chocolate on a store shelf by a security camera. This man was believed to be the mastermind behind the Monster with 21 Faces. The security camera photo was made public after this incident.[9]
On September 30, 2008, Hong Kong authorities announced thatmelamine had been detected in Pocky Men's coffee cream-coated biscuit sticks made in China. Ezaki Glico had no immediate comment on the reported contamination. The melamine contamination level was found to be 43 ppm (the legal limit is 2.5 ppm).[10] On October 17, 2008, Pocky Men's coffee cream-coated biscuit sticks were banned in Sri Lanka by the country's health ministry alongside 59 other products containing melamine.[11][12]
The name of the European version “Mikado” comes from the game of the samename. It is played with thin & long sticks, hence the name.[citation needed]
