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.
