Pocky has been on Japanese shelves since 1966 — older than most British sweet brands still trading — yet it's only in the last five or so years that it's become a regular sight in UK supermarkets.
What actually counts as a "Japanese snack"
"Japanese snacks" isn't one product category so much as a handful of brands that have each built a cult following outside Japan:
- Pocky — chocolate-coated biscuit sticks made by Ezaki Glico since 1966, sold in dozens of flavours from matcha to strawberry cheesecake.
- Hi-Chew — an intensely fruity, soft chew made by Morinaga since 1975. It stayed largely unknown outside Japan until US baseball players who trained there developed a taste for it in the 2000s.
- Ramune — a marble-stoppered fizzy soda dating back to 1884, instantly recognisable by its Codd-neck bottle.
- Umaibo — a cheap, extruded corn puff sold for around 10 yen a stick in Japan, in flavours ranging from cheese to takoyaki.
Why the UK caught on
Three things lined up. Subscription boxes like TokyoTreat and Bokksu launched in the mid-2010s and turned "trying Japanese snacks" into a monthly habit rather than a one-off souvenir. Unboxing and taste-test videos then did the marketing for free — unusual textures and loud packaging are exactly what travels well on video. And more Asian supermarkets and specialist importers opened in UK cities, so the habit didn't depend on ordering from Japan every time.
How the flavours actually differ from British sweets
British sweets tend to lead with sugar or acid — a sherbet fizz, a sour coating, a boiled-sugar hit. Japanese snacks are built around texture and restraint instead: the chew of a Hi-Chew, the snap-then-soften of a Pocky stick, the marble-and-fizz theatre of a Ramune bottle. Flavours skew towards matcha, yuzu, and umeboshi (pickled plum) rather than the intense citric-acid sourness you'd get from a British sour sweet.
Where to start
If you're new to the category, Pocky, Hi-Chew and Ramune are the three to try first — they're the most widely stocked, the most representative of the style, and the easiest to find outside specialist importers.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most popular Japanese snacks and candy?
Pocky (chocolate-dipped biscuit sticks from Ezaki Glico, launched in 1966), Hi-Chew (soft fruit chews from Morinaga, launched in 1975) and Ramune (marble-stoppered soda dating to 1884) are the three names most people recognise, alongside Umaibo corn puffs and Japan-only Kit Kat flavours.
Why are Japanese snacks trending in the UK?
Subscription boxes such as TokyoTreat and Bokksu made monthly imports easy from the mid-2010s onwards, social media unboxing videos gave the unusual flavours and packaging huge reach, and more Asian supermarkets and specialist importers opened in UK cities.
Are Japanese sweets very different from British sweets?
Yes. Japanese snacks are built around texture — chewy, layered, crunchy — and comparatively subtle flavours like matcha, yuzu and umeboshi, rather than the intense sugar or sour hit typical of British sweets.