Pocky – China 3D Cinema System – CHINA Customers Projects
History
It was first sold in 1966, and consists of a pretzel stick coated with chocolate. The name was changed to “Pocky,” after the Japanese onomatopoetic word for the sound Pocky makes when bitten, pokkin (). The original was followed by “Almond Pocky” in 1971, with an almond coating, and “Strawberry Pocky” in 1977. Today, the product line includes such variations as milk, mousse, green tea, honey, banana and coconut flavored coatings, and themed products such as “Decorer Pocky,” with colorful decorative stripes in the coating, and “Men’s Pocky,” a dark (bittersweet) chocolate and “mature” version.
Popularity in Japan and foreign countries
Pocky is very popular in Japan and was an instant hit among Japanese teenagers. In bars it is sometimes served with a glass of ice water. It also has a significant presence in other East Asian countries such as China as well as South Korea (although a similar product known as pepero is one of copy-products by Lotte; not a renamed product of Pocky). In Europe Pocky is renamed Mikado, after the game Mikado, and distributed by LU Biscuits. Mikado can be found at most supermarkets, as well as at many international food stores. In Malaysia Pocky was renamed Rocky, perhaps to avoid sounding like a vulgar word in Malay. The original Pocky-branded versions can still be easily obtained in Malaysia from import stores, usually located within shopping complexes. In the United States and Canada Pocky can be found in Asian supermarkets and the international section of most large supermarkets, such as World Market, HEB, Wegmans, at select f.y.e. stores, Wal-Mart (in the Asian foods aisle), Border’s bookstores, some Target stores, some Walgreens, and anime convention dealers’ rooms. In the United States Pocky is marketed both by LU (in chocolate and peanut butter flavors) and by Ezaki Glico’s American division, Ezaki Glico USA Corporation (in chocolate and strawberry flavors). In Australia Pocky is usually sold in Asian convenience markets along with other Asian foods and products.
On September 30, 2008, Hong Kong authorities announced that melamine 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 (legal limit is 2.5 ppm).
Pocky flavors
Pocky can be found in dozens of varieties such as chocolate, strawberry, and almond. Some of the more unusual flavors include the seasonal flavors of honey (spring) and kiwifruit mango (summer). The bittersweet version of chocolate Pocky is known as Men’s Pocky. Regional flavors of Pocky include grape (Nagano), ybari melon (Hokkaid), giant mikan (tangerine, sold in the Kysh region), powdered tea azuki bean (Kyoto), Kobe wine (Kobe), and five-fusion berry (Goka). There are also such flavors as banana, coffee, caramel, marble royal milk tea, melon, milk, honey and milk, choco banana, cream cheese, berry, sweet potato, coconut, crush (crunchy cracker pieces in chocolate), pineapple, pumpkin, hazelnut, kurogoma (black sesame), kinako (soy bean flour), marron, Brazilian pudding, mikan, blueberry, apple yogurt, and green tea.
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 especially contain fewer pieces than regular Pocky with only nine pieces per pack.
Another variation of Pocky is the My Calorie Pocky ( , mai karor pokk?), which has 1/4 the calories of regular chocolate Pocky.
A related product is Pretz, which is an unglazed version of Pocky, featuring flavors like tomato, pizza, and salad, as well as sweet flavors such as French toast.
Pronunciation
There is some confusion in the English-speaking world as to how to pronounce “Pocky”. Japanese pokk is pronounced [poki]. Both it and its Roman transcription are analogous to English words such as “rocky”, which is taken into Japanese as rokk, suggesting an intended English pronunciation of /pki/.
Glico Morinaga Case
Following threats by The Monster with 21 Faces to poison Glico confections and the resulting mass withdrawal of Glico products from shelves, a man wearing a 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.
See also
List of Japanese snack food
Pepero
Yan Yan (snack)
Pretz
Glico Morinaga case
References
^ “Glico – Confectionery”. Ezaki Glico Co., Ltd.. http://www.glico.co.jp/en/corp/profile3a.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
^ “Definition of “puki”, Urban Dictionary”. November 2, 2003. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=puki. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
^ “Lipton – brand milk tea powder recalled in Asia”. The New York Times. September 30, 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-AS-Hong-Kong-Tainted-Milk.html. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
^ Q&A with Manabu Miyazaki
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pocky
Official site
(Japanese) Official Pocky website
Other sites
(English) Glico’s global business
(English) Big in Japan: Pocky
(English) American fansite on Japanese snacks (defunct, Internet Archive)
(English) Pocky Shrine
(English) Original Chocolate Pocky images
(Japanese) Science Channel’s The Making Series: #114 Making of Stick Candy
(English) How to make your own Pocky
Categories: Japanese snack food | Japanese brand foodsHidden categories: Articles needing additional references from October 2008 | All articles needing additional references
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