SpecialtyFood.com

By NICOLE POTENZA DENIS

candy counter

Innovative, complicated and exotic are a few of the ways that Asian candies—which are finding a huge and often obsessed following in the U.S.—are being described. Here’s what you need to know to get a handle on this booming market.

The incredible popularity of Japanese manga (comics) and anime (animation) has made all things Asian all the more cool. Combine that with consumers’ ongoing quest for new and different foods, and you begin to understand why Asian candies are finding their place in specialty shops.

Although there isn’t a unifying theme to the genre, certain characteristics distinguish Asian candies from their Western counterparts: a combination of exotic flavors (which can range from oolong tea to red wine or even milk); interesting textures (many have crunchy or a combination of smooth and chewy consistencies); and wild packaging graphics (including Hello Kitty and animated fruit). In many cases, you don’t simply enjoy the candy; you have a multidimensional flavor and texture experience.

The Flavors and Textures
Japan leads the Asian confection category particularly in gummy or hard candies. Fans of Japanese hard candy say you always want to ‘lick until the end’ to get everything the candy has to offer because it can change throughout. “There are many surprises and different tastes and textures along the way,” says Sachiko Nomura, Daiei Trading, College Point, N.Y., where Japanese treats such as Meiji caramel milk candy, Morinaga chewy Hi-Chew and Kasugai gummies that contain real fruit juice are popular, long-standing imports.

Kasugai Cabernet Sauvignon hard candy from Japan is an ideal example: underneath its intense grape hard exterior is a chewy center revealing hints of real red wine. A matcha semi-soft candy, imported by Hadson (Toko) Trading, Flushing, N.Y., has a powdery, bitter green tea exterior, but is complemented by a soft, chewy milky interior—reminiscent of a truffle.

Pocky, the most well-known Japanese snack falling in the chocolate category, are cracker-like sticks coated with a variety of ‘frostings’ ranging from chocolate and Oreo to strawberry to blueberry. (For more information on Japanese chocolate treats, see box, p. 26.)

Popular Exports
Some Japanese candies have high vitamin C content or use natural ingredients. Ginseng, tea extract and vitamins are often added to gum. “Japanese bubble gum is original, with softer, smaller pieces and shorter flavor duration,” notes Gustavo Caraballo of importer AsianFoodGrocer.com. Lotte Black Black gum, says Caraballo, is one of its top sellers and contains ginseng, oolong tea extract and vitamin B3.

Other confections include milk candy from China including White Rabbit candy, which dates back to the 1940s. However, the recent melamine-tainted milk scare revealed traces of melamine in White Rabbit. Products were pulled off the shelves and the FDA warns American consumers not to eat any flavors of the candy.

Chinese spicy ginger chews are also popular in the U.S. Both hard and chewy tamarind candies hail from Thailand—the chewy kind are a mix of sour, chile and salt flavors. Lychee Coconut jellies—with the consistency of Jell-O®—come from Taiwan.

Creative Combinations
In any Asian grocer, sweet candies are almost always accompanied by their savory, salty and crunchy counterparts such as wasabi peas, shrimp crackers, dried squid, vinegar octopus and dried anchovies. “Those snacks are great with alcoholic beverages; those made from fish like the dried anchovies are called Otsumami and are popular,” says Takayuki Ono, assistant store manager of Mitsuwa Marketplace in Edgewater, N.J. Preserved fruits that give a mouth-puckering umami flavor like salted preserved plums or pickled watermelon rind also round out the category.

Marketing and Merchandising
Packaging too, is an attention grabber. “The more Asian-looking the packaging, with writing and vibrant colors, the quicker it will sell,” notes Tony Wilson of Global Foods Market. The Kirkwood, Mo.-based retailer devotes almost 20 feet to Asian candies that mostly hail from Japan.

Ono from Mitsuwa notices distinct shopping patterns among customers: “Japanese people buy more new items or flavorful candies, Asians on a whole buy more variety and American customers buy famous candies such as Gilco Pocky or Kasugai gummies.”

Never boring, Asian candies offer flavor profiles, variety and taste surprises that Americans are finding hard to resist. And as Wilson of Global Foods Market notes, the category is growing in popularity with everyone from kids to adults requesting new items and flavors daily. |SFM|

the asian candy dish

Hard Candies
Textures can include chewy centers with a powdery exterior or an effervescent effect. Flavors range from mildly sweet to intensely sour including Ramune, Cola, Grape, Cherry, Wine, Mint and Sour Lemon. Top brands:

• Hiyasyuwa Ramune Sour Fizzy Soda Candy has a powdery outside and small effervescent tablets inside.
• Nobel Super Lemon Hard Candy has a stinging lemon powder exterior and a mild lemon candy interior.

Chocolate and Chocolate-Dipped Treats
Chocolates tend to be less sweet than American versions and are combined with a starchy element. Varieties include strawberry-flavored white chocolate and vanilla-flavored white chocolate. Top brands:

• Hello Panda are chocolate-filled, panda-shaped shortbreads in Vanilla, Chocolate, Strawberry and Peanut Butter filling.
• Bourbon Every Burger is shaped like a hamburger with two sesame shortbread biscuits as the bun and semisweet chocolate in between.

Savory, Sweet and Umami Treats
Rice crackers, shrimp crackers, mochi crackers, wasabi peas, arare snacks and preserved fruits in salty, sour and umami flavors. Top brands:

• Hapi Yaki Mochi, Mochi Crunch and Mochi Crackers are brown rice crackers with salty, sweet flavors of seaweed, shrimp, soy and sometimes tamarind.
• Chan Pui Mui preserved plums in Sweet, Salty, Orange and Licorice flavors.

Soft and Chewy Candies
Chews, gummies, bubble gum and taffy-like milk caramel candy with flavors such as Jasmine, Mint, Caramel, Cola, Strawberry, Peach, Lychee and Coffee. Top brands:

• Kasugai Gummies have soft textures and intense flavors made with real fruit juices.
• Meiji Milk Caramels are milk toffee caramel squares available in Green Tea Milk and Azuki Bean Milk flavor.

Nicole Potenza Denis is a contributing editor to Specialty Food Magazine.