EXCLUSIVE: Meiji’s “Hello Panda” Snack Returns to Japan after 40 Yrs

Tokyo, June 30 (Jiji Press)–Meiji Co.’s “Hello Panda” chocolate snack became available at Costco Wholesale stores in Japan on Tuesday, some 40 years after the original product was discontinued due to lackluster sales. The product is currently popular in overseas markets, prompting limited imports from Singapore. “We have been aware that consumers want to eat it in Japan,” a Meiji official said. The company is considering the possibility of fully relaunching the product in Japan, depending on consumer reaction. In 1987, Meiji launched the original product, “Konnichiwa Panda,” to take advantage of the second panda boom ignited by the birth of a giant panda, named Tong Tong, at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo. However, the company stopped selling it in 1989 amid tough competition in the snack market. The snack’s overseas version, Hello Panda, was launched in Singapore in 1991 and is now available in more than 30 countries. The largest market for the product by value is the United States, where Meiji started local production in 2015. The company aims to double its U.S. sales by fiscal 2030 compared with the fiscal 2024 level. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]