Pocky solved a problem most chocolate snacks still haven't: how to eat something chocolate-coated without ending up with chocolate on your fingers.
A 1966 solution to a sticky problem
Ezaki Glico launched Pocky in Japan in 1966, at a time when the Japanese chocolate snack market was dominated by straightforward chocolate bars. Instead, Glico dipped thin biscuit sticks in chocolate, deliberately leaving one end - the "handle" - completely bare. That uncoated end meant you could eat the whole stick without your fingers touching any chocolate at all, a genuinely new idea for a snack format at the time.
Where the name comes from
Pocky takes its name from the Japanese word "pokin," an onomatopoeia for the snapping sound the biscuit stick makes when you bite it. The sticks were originally hand-dipped one at a time before production scaled up to meet demand.
From Japan to the world
Pocky has since expanded into dozens of flavours across global markets, from the original chocolate to strawberry, matcha and seasonal limited editions, and it's become a fixture of Asian confectionery aisles and import sweet shops worldwide rather than a niche Japanese import. Glico estimates around 500 million boxes are sold every year, adding up to roughly 19 billion boxes sold since 1966. In 2020, Guinness World Records certified Pocky as the best-selling chocolate-coated biscuit brand on the planet - a genuinely global scale for a snack that started as a way to stop chocolate melting on your fingers.
Frequently asked questions
When was Pocky launched?
Pocky was launched in Japan in 1966 by Ezaki Glico.
Why does Pocky have a bare handle at one end?
Each stick was originally hand-dipped in chocolate, leaving one end uncoated deliberately so it could be held and eaten mess-free.
How popular is Pocky worldwide?
Glico has sold an estimated 19 billion boxes since 1966 - around 500 million a year - and Pocky holds the Guinness World Record for best-selling chocolate-coated biscuit brand, certified in 2020.