Snack foods in Japan - statistics & facts

Japanese snack foods

The Japanese snack food industry is dominated by domestic enterprises such as Lotte Group, Meiji Holdings Co., Ltd., and Calbee, Inc., while Mondelez International Inc., Nestlé SA, and Mars Inc. are successfully representing global manufacturers. Other contributors include major beverage businesses, such as Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd., that expanded their portfolios to include the manufacturing of confections.
Savory snacks in the Japanese market are predominately referring to puffed or deep-fried products, with wheat flour-based crackers (senbei) and rice crackers being top sellers. Sweet snacks encompass a wider array of confections ranging from traditional sweets (wagashi) to western-style confectioneries (yô-namagashi), candy, and chewing gum. Especially wagashi and chocolate represent staple products of domestic confectionery manufacturing. Their significance is further boosted by the Japanese culture of buying souvenirs (omiyage) after travels.

Snacking and health

Despite the wide range of snack products, snacking is not necessarily a common habit among Japanese. Stimulated by consumer’s increasing awareness of the domestic health food market, snack food manufacturers are required to adapt to changes by introducing healthier snacking options. An emerging top seller is high-cocoa chocolate with a cocoa content of over 70 percent. Market leaders including Meiji and Lotte have introduced their product lines in the domestic market, with the marketing success being reflected in the growing interest of chocolate with high cocoa content as a food eaten for its presumed health benefits.

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