Skip to content
WorldBrand.AI

Ezaki Glico

Corporate brand

UnclaimedRequest correction

Japanese multinational food company best known for Pocky, Pretz, Glico Caramel, ice cream, dairy desserts, processed foods, and nutrition products.

Last updated November 4, 2026

AI crawler reads

No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.

Overview

Ezaki Glico Co., Ltd., commonly known as Glico, is a Japanese multinational food manufacturer headquartered in Nishiyodogawa-ku, Osaka. Its business spans confectionery, chocolate, biscuits, pretzel sticks, chewing gum, candy, ice cream, chilled desserts, dairy products, processed foods, infant formula, beverages, dietary supplements, and food-related health businesses. The company is particularly associated with Pocky, the chocolate-coated biscuit stick, and Pretz, the savory or sweet pretzel-stick snack. Other recognizable offerings include Glico Caramel, Bisco, Pucchin Pudding, Giant Cone, Papico, Panapp, Ice no Mi, Almond Chocolate, and Seventeen Ice. The company traces its origins to Riichi Ezaki’s work in 1919, when he explored the use of glycogen derived from oyster broth in a nutritious confection. He named the product Glico, a shortened form of glycogen, and marketed it with the health-oriented slogan “300 Meters in a Single Piece.” The product’s red package and running-man symbol established a distinctive visual identity that has remained central to the brand. Commercial sales began on February 11, 1922, at the Mitsukoshi department store in Osaka. Ezaki later organized the business as Ezaki Glico Co., Ltd.; the company’s corporate data identifies February 1929 as the formal establishment date, while 1922 remains the founding and commercial-launch year generally associated with the brand. Glico grew by combining food manufacturing with unusually inventive marketing and distribution. Early initiatives included promotional flyers containing discount coupons, miniature toys packaged with confectionery, public vending machines, and large-scale outdoor advertising. The illuminated Glico running-man sign installed above Dotonbori in Osaka in 1935 became one of the city’s most recognizable commercial landmarks. The sign has been redesigned several times, including versions connected with major sporting events and local support for the Hanshin Tigers. World War II destroyed Glico’s Osaka and Tokyo factories as well as its overseas facilities. Production was rebuilt after the war, beginning with the revival of Bisco and Glico Caramel. The company then broadened its portfolio through a sequence of long-running launches: Pretz in 1963, Pocky in 1966, Pucchin Pudding and other chilled desserts during the 1970s, and additional ice cream and processed-food products in subsequent decades. Pocky was created around a simple usability insight: a chocolate coating could be applied to a biscuit stick while leaving one end uncovered, allowing consumers to hold and eat it without getting chocolate on their fingers. In Europe, the product is sold under the Mikado name through a relationship involving General Biscuit and Mondelez. Glico’s overseas expansion began before the postwar consumer boom fully matured. The company established a factory in Dalian in 1932, entered Thailand in 1970, formed a French operation in 1982, established Shanghai Ezaki Glico Foods in 1995, and created its United States corporation in 2003. It later expanded in Indonesia through PT Glico Wings in 2013, PT Glico Indonesia in 2014, and a dedicated manufacturing operation that began full-scale production in 2023. Glico also acquired TCHO Ventures, a Berkeley-based artisanal chocolate maker, in 2018. The group now operates through bases and affiliates across Japan, Asia, Europe, and North America, with products adapted to local tastes and distribution systems. The brand’s history also includes the Glico-Morinaga case of 1984–1985, when Ezaki Glico became the first principal target of an unresolved extortion and poisoning-threat campaign attributed to the group calling itself the Monster with 21 Faces. Company president Katsuhisa Ezaki was kidnapped and later escaped, while the company faced ransom demands, threats involving contaminated confectionery, and arson at a facility. The episode caused serious reputational and operational disruption but did not perman…

History

Ezaki Glico’s history begins with Riichi Ezaki’s interest in food science and public health. In 1919, while examining oyster broth, Ezaki focused on glycogen and its possible nutritional value. His interest was reinforced by the recovery of his son from typhus, which led him to pursue food products that could connect nourishment with everyday enjoyment. He developed a caramel confection containing glycogen and named it Glico, a shortened form of glycogen. The brand’s early promise was summarized by the slogan “300 Meters in a Single Piece,” which linked the candy to energy and physical activity. On February 11, 1922, Glico Caramel was offered for sale at the Mitsukoshi department store in Osaka. This date is treated as the founding anniversary of the Glico business. Ezaki used a red package to stand out in a market where yellow packaging was common, and he placed the image of a running man on the box. He also pursued direct and experimental marketing methods, including promotional flyers with coupons, product-linked toys, and public vending machines. These methods helped make the product more than a conventional sweet: it became a repeatable consumer experience built around health, play, collectability, and visual recognition. The corporate organization developed during the 1920s, with Ezaki Glico Co., Ltd. formally established in February 1929 according to current company data. Overseas manufacturing began with a Dalian factory in 1932. In Japan, the company also invested in outdoor advertising. The large illuminated Glico sign above Dotonbori, first installed in 1935, turned the running man into a civic and commercial symbol of Osaka. It has subsequently been redesigned several times and used to mark sporting events, local celebrations, and changes in the city’s visual culture. World War II severely damaged the business. Glico’s Osaka and Tokyo factories, as well as its overseas facilities, were destroyed by the end of the war. The postwar recovery began with the revival of Bisco and the return of Glico Caramel. Rather than remaining dependent on one caramel product, the company rebuilt through product diversification. Almond Chocolate became an important chocolate offering, and a succession of new products established Glico in several food categories. Pretz was launched in 1963 as a long, convenient snack inspired by European pretzels. Pocky followed in 1966. Its central innovation was a chocolate-coated biscuit stick with an uncoated grip, making the product easy to hold and share. Pocky became one of the company’s defining global brands and was later adapted for different markets, including the Mikado name in parts of Europe. The company also supported its consumer brands through entertainment and advertising partnerships. It sponsored the original Japanese television anime Tetsujin 28 during the 1960s and used distinctive characters and animated campaigns for products such as Pucchin Pudding. During the 1970s and 1980s, Glico expanded beyond shelf-stable confectionery into chilled desserts and ice cream. Pucchin Pudding, Panapp, Giant Cone, Papico, and Seventeen Ice helped establish a broader presence in supermarkets, convenience channels, vending machines, and foodservice environments. The company also developed processed-food products such as curry roux, retort pouch meals, and cream-stew bases. Infant formula, beverages, dietary supplements, and functional foods added further links between Glico’s original health-oriented identity and modern nutrition categories. The most serious crisis in the company’s history occurred in 1984 and 1985. Katsuhisa Ezaki, then the company’s president, was kidnapped from his home. After his escape, the perpetrators demanded money and threatened to contaminate confectionery products. A group using the name Monster with 21 Faces sent threatening letters and broadened its campaign to other major Japanese food companies, most notably Morinaga. Glico offices and facilities were attacked, and products were removed from distribution amid public fear. The case was never solved, but the episode became one of Japan’s best-known unresolved criminal investigations. In the 1990s, Glico experimented with alternative distribution channels and direct-to-consumer delivery. Office Glico, which placed snack boxes and refrigerators in workplaces, reflected the company’s continuing interest in bringing food closer to consumers rather than relying only on traditional retail. Research and development also became more prominent as Glico responded to interest in low-calorie products, sugar reduction, oral care, digestive health, and other functional benefits. The company’s international expansion accelerated from the 1970s onward. Thai Glico was established in 1970, a French operation was formed in 1982, Shanghai Ezaki Glico Foods was established in 1995, and Ezaki Glico USA began operations in 2003. Indonesia became an important growth market through PT Glico Wings in 2013 and PT Glico Indonesia in 2014. Glico later established a dedicated Indonesian manufacturing base to support Pocky production and regional supply. In North America, the group acquired TCHO Ventures in 2018, adding an artisanal chocolate business to its portfolio. Pocky’s global growth was supported by local flavor development, youth marketing, sampling, retail expansion, and social-media campaigns. In Indonesia, Glico used JKT48 endorsements, school sampling through a Pocky Wagon, and occasion-based messaging connected to Ramadan and friendship. The brand’s global communication increasingly emphasized sharing, portability, and social connection rather than only product taste. The annual November 11 Pocky and Pretz Day further strengthened the brand’s calendar-based marketing system. In 2022, Glico marked its centenary and articulated a renewed corporate purpose, “Healthier days, Wellbeing for Life.” The purpose broadened the company’s historical health message into a wider approach covering good taste, nutrition, scientific research, sustainability, and everyday wellbeing. Recent activity has included research into cellular care and functional ingredients, collaboration on lower-carbon logistics, participation in Expo 2025 Osaka, and continued investment in overseas manufacturing and local market development. The company has also faced operational and quality-control challenges. A core-system transition in April 2024 disrupted shipments of chilled goods and required a prolonged recovery process. In 2025, Glico announced voluntary recalls involving certain chocolate products and a limited Almond Koka lot. These events prompted additional quality-control and supply-chain attention, but Glico remains an active listed company with a diversified food portfolio, a strong domestic base, and internationally recognized brands led by Pocky.

  • 2025

    Glico participates in Expo 2025 Osaka

    [10]

    Glico sponsored and operated health- and food-related activities at Expo 2025 Osaka, including programming on gut health and cellular care.

  • 2025

    Core Pocky products receive a major refresh

    [17]

    Pocky Chocolate and Pocky Fine were reformulated and relaunched in Japan with a renewed focus on cocoa flavor.

  • 2024

    Core-system disruption affects chilled-product shipments

    [12]

    A core-system transition caused shipment interruptions and required a staged restoration of chilled-product distribution.

  • 2023

    Glico Manufacturing Indonesia begins full-scale Pocky production

    [16]

    A new Indonesian manufacturing operation began shipments, supporting supply to Southeast Asia and North America.

  • 2022

    Glico celebrates its centenary and adopts a new purpose

    [3]

    The group marked 100 years and introduced the purpose “Healthier days, Wellbeing for Life.”

  • 2018

    TCHO Ventures acquired

    [5]

    Glico acquired TCHO Ventures, a Berkeley-based artisanal chocolate manufacturer, adding a specialist chocolate business to its group.

  • 2016

    Pocky Day campaign launched for the brand’s 50th anniversary

    [6]

    Glico introduced a Pocky Day campaign as part of the brand’s fiftieth-anniversary activity.

  • 2014

    PT Glico Indonesia established

    [6]

    Glico established its Indonesian sales company, supporting the expansion of Pocky, Pretz, and other products.

  • 2013

    PT Glico Wings established in Indonesia

    [3]

    Glico entered an Indonesian joint venture structure through PT Glico Wings.

  • 2003

    Ezaki Glico USA established

    [3]

    The company created its United States corporation to support sales and distribution in North America.

Products and positioning

Mass-market to premium food and confectionery portfolio combining accessible everyday snacks with health, nutrition, convenience, and experiential brand marketing.

  • Chocolate-coated biscuit sticks · 1966

    Pocky

    Pocky is Glico’s signature global confectionery brand, consisting of crisp biscuit or pretzel-style sticks partially coated in chocolate or flavored coatings. The uncoated end functions as a grip, making the snack easy to eat without touching the coating. Since its Japanese launch in 1966, Pocky has developed into a broad international platform with chocolate, strawberry, matcha, almond, fruit, seasonal, family-pack, and market-specific variants. In Europe it is sold under the Mikado name.

  • Pretzel-stick snacks · 1963

    Pretz

    Pretz is a long, baked stick snack inspired by European pretzels and introduced in Japan in 1963. It is sold in savory and sweet varieties, with flavor profiles that can include salt, tomato, salad, pizza, and other locally adapted seasonings. Pretz occupies a complementary position to Pocky: it uses a stick format but generally emphasizes the baked snack and seasoning rather than a chocolate coating.

  • Caramel confectionery · 1922

    Glico Caramel

    Glico Caramel is the product from which the company and brand name originated. Riichi Ezaki developed the original nutritious caramel around the idea of incorporating glycogen and associated the product with energy and health. Its red box, running-man mark, and “300 Meters in a Single Piece” positioning established the visual and rhetorical foundations of Glico. The product has continued in standard and selected flavor variants, including caramel and almond-related versions.

  • Nutritional biscuit · 1933

    Bisco

    Bisco is a long-running biscuit product positioned around everyday nourishment, especially for children and families. It consists of wheat-based biscuits with a creamy filling and has been associated with Glico’s postwar reconstruction and health-oriented product philosophy. The brand has developed multiple flavors and formats while retaining its identity as a convenient, mild-tasting snack with a functional or nutritious image.

  • Chilled pudding dessert · 1972

    Pucchin Pudding

    Pucchin Pudding is a chilled dairy dessert distinguished by its package design, which allows the pudding to be released onto a plate by pulling or activating a mechanism at the base. The product combines a soft pudding texture with a playful serving ritual and has become one of Japan’s best-known packaged pudding brands. It represents Glico’s expansion from shelf-stable confectionery into refrigerated desserts and family-oriented food experiences.

  • Cone ice cream · 1970

    Giant Cone

    Giant Cone is a cone-format ice cream featuring a crisp cone, chocolate elements, and nut or confectionery toppings. The product began as Glico Cone and was renamed Giant Cone in 1996. It belongs to Glico’s mainstream ice cream portfolio and is designed as a portable, indulgent frozen snack sold through retail and convenience channels.

  • Tube-format sherbet and ice cream · 1974

    Papico

    Papico is a frozen dessert sold in paired squeezable tubes. Its smooth sherbet or ice-cream-like texture and shareable two-pack format differentiate it from conventional cones and cups. The product is strongly associated with casual consumption, portability, and social sharing, and it has been offered in multiple fruit, coffee, and seasonal flavors.

  • Filled cup ice cream · 1978

    Panapp

    Panapp is a cup-format ice cream with fruit sauce or flavored filling distributed through the center. Its design combines vanilla or other creamy ice cream with a contrasting fruit component, creating a layered eating experience. Panapp is part of Glico’s long-standing chilled and frozen dessert business and has been refreshed through flavor and packaging variations over time.

  • Bite-sized frozen confectionery · 1994

    Ice no Mi

    Ice no Mi consists of small, round frozen pieces designed to be eaten individually or shared. The format supports variety packs and fruit- or dairy-based flavors, while the compact shape gives the product a distinctive sensory identity. Glico has also used imaginative digital and advertising concepts to promote the product, including a computer-generated character assembled from facial features of members of AKB48.

  • Vending-machine ice cream · 1983

    Seventeen Ice

    Seventeen Ice is a vending-machine ice cream business offering numerous flavors in a portable stick, cone, or related format. Rather than depending exclusively on supermarkets, the brand uses dedicated vending machines in stations, public facilities, leisure sites, and other high-traffic locations. This model extends Glico’s historical interest in direct distribution and impulse purchasing.

  • Chocolate and nut confectionery · 1962

    Almond Chocolate

    Almond Chocolate combines roasted almonds with a chocolate coating and is one of Glico’s established chocolate lines. It builds on the company’s confectionery expertise while offering a more substantial nut texture than standard molded chocolate. The product has been sold in multiple package formats and flavor variations and has contributed to Glico’s position in the Japanese chocolate market.

  • Infant formula

    ICREO Balance Milk

    ICREO Balance Milk is a powdered infant-formula product associated with Glico’s nutrition business. It extends the group beyond snacks and desserts into early-life nutrition and reflects the company’s broader interest in products positioned around health, development, and dietary balance. Glico has also developed ready-to-drink infant formula products for convenience and emergency preparedness needs.

  • Artisanal chocolate

    TCHO

    TCHO is a Berkeley-based chocolate manufacturer acquired by Glico in 2018. It is known for craft-oriented chocolate products and provides Glico with a specialist premium-chocolate platform in North America. The business complements Glico’s mass-market confectionery brands by adding a more ingredient-, origin-, and process-focused approach to chocolate.

Controversies

  • 1984

    Glico-Morinaga extortion and poisoning-threat case

    In 1984, Glico president Katsuhisa Ezaki was kidnapped and the company was subjected to ransom demands, threats involving allegedly poisoned confectionery, and arson. The group calling itself the Monster with 21 Faces later targeted Morinaga and other Japanese food companies. The case remained unsolved and became one of Japan’s most prominent unresolved criminal investigations.

    Source

Read more

Marketing campaigns

  • 2025Expo 2025 Osaka health and wellbeing program

    Japan · International

    Glico sponsored the Osaka Healthcare Pavilion and the EARTH MART signature pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka. Activities included exhibits and events on gut health, short-chain fatty acids, cellular care, food innovation, and limited products such as rice soft candy.

    Outcome. The program positioned Glico as a food company involved in public education, health research, and future-oriented food experiences as well as conventional confectionery.

    Source
  • 2025Glico x FM802 FUTURE EXPO LIVE “17 SPIRITS”

    Japan

    Glico organized an outdoor music event with FM802 during Expo 2025 in Osaka, linking the company’s local Osaka identity with youth culture, music, and the Expo environment.

    Outcome. The event extended Glico’s experiential and regional marketing beyond packaged products.

    Source
  • 2022Glico centenary and “Healthier days, Wellbeing for Life”

    Global

    For its hundredth anniversary, Glico presented a renewed corporate purpose centered on healthier days and lifelong wellbeing. The program connected the company’s original nutrition-oriented story with modern research, food innovation, health, and sustainability.

    Outcome. The purpose became the group’s principal global framing for combining taste, health, science, and social contribution.

    Source
  • 2016Pocky Day

    Japan · International

    Glico launched a dedicated Pocky Day campaign on November 11, using the visual similarity between the date and the stick-shaped product to create an annual brand occasion.

    Outcome. Pocky Day became a recurring calendar-based marketing platform supporting limited products, social engagement, gifting, and consumer participation.

    Source
  • 2012Pocky Indonesia youth and sampling strategy

    Indonesia

    Glico used JKT48 endorsements, the Pocky Wagon school-sampling program, social-media sharing, and occasion-based messaging such as “Pocky after Ramadan” to make Pocky more fashionable and familiar among Indonesian youth.

    Outcome. The campaign was designed to increase awareness, create peer-to-peer sharing, and build broader distribution in a market where Pocky had previously been relatively unknown.

    Source
  • 1963Tetsujin 28 sponsorship

    Japan

    Glico served as the principal sponsor of the original Japanese television anime Tetsujin 28, known internationally in adapted form as Gigantor. The sponsorship linked Glico’s confectionery business with children’s entertainment and collectible culture.

    Outcome. The partnership strengthened Glico’s family and youth-oriented advertising presence during the 1960s.

    Source
  • 1935Dotonbori Glico Sign

    Japan

    Glico installed a large illuminated sign featuring its running-man symbol above Dotonbori in Osaka. The sign became a landmark and a durable form of place-based brand advertising, later receiving redesigns tied to sporting events and local celebrations.

    Outcome. The sign became one of Osaka’s best-known commercial and tourist landmarks and remains strongly associated with the Glico identity.

    Source

Brand decisions

  • 2025

    Refresh Pocky Chocolate and Pocky FineProduct launch

    Background

    Glico sought to renew its core red-box Pocky products while preserving their familiar identity and strengthening the taste contribution of cocoa ingredients.

    Action taken

    The company reformulated Pocky Chocolate and Pocky Fine and announced a nationwide Japanese relaunch scheduled for September 2, 2025.

    Aftermath

    The move represented a major generation change for two of Pocky’s central products and reinforced the brand’s focus on its classic core.

    Source

  • 2025

    Voluntarily recall selected chocolate productsOther

    Background

    Glico identified 20 chocolate products whose flavor differed from the intended standard, including Pocky Chocolate and Pocky Fine products.

    Action taken

    The company initiated a voluntary recall and stated that it would review warehouse-storage rules and inspection systems as part of recurrence prevention.

    Aftermath

    The 2025 annual report recorded ¥1.340 billion in product-recall-related expenses for the fiscal year.

    Product recall-related expenses. ¥1.340 billion (Fiscal year ended December 31, 2025)

    Source

  • 2024

    Respond to core-system failure affecting chilled-product distributionOther

    Background

    A core business-system replacement created data inconsistencies and processing problems that interrupted orders and shipments of chilled food products.

    Action taken

    Glico temporarily stopped or restricted shipments, issued repeated operational updates, worked through system recovery, and ultimately reported restoration of full chilled-product shipments.

    Aftermath

    The disruption caused operational inconvenience and contributed to financial pressure in the dairy-related business. The 2025 annual report recorded approximately ¥6.403 billion in 2024 system-failure response costs.

    System-failure response costs. ¥6.403 billion (Fiscal year ended December 31, 2024)

    Source

  • 2022

    Adopt the “Healthier days, Wellbeing for Life” purposeStrategy

    Background

    Glico’s original identity was built around the idea of enhancing health through food, but its modern business required a broader framework encompassing nutrition, enjoyment, research, and social wellbeing.

    Action taken

    The company introduced a new group purpose during its centenary year and aligned communication around taste, health, science, and wellbeing.

    Aftermath

    The purpose became the central narrative for Glico’s health-oriented products, research initiatives, Expo participation, and sustainability activities.

    Source

  • 2018

    Acquire TCHO VenturesM&A

    Background

    Glico wanted to strengthen its presence in premium and artisanal chocolate while expanding its North American business.

    Action taken

    The group acquired TCHO Ventures, a Berkeley-based artisanal chocolate manufacturer.

    Aftermath

    TCHO became part of Glico’s international portfolio and provided a specialist chocolate platform alongside mass-market brands such as Pocky.

    Source

  • 2014

    Build a dedicated Indonesian Pocky platformStrategy

    Background

    Indonesia offered a large youthful consumer base but Pocky awareness was relatively limited compared with Japan and some other Asian markets.

    Action taken

    Glico established PT Glico Indonesia and combined local marketing, school sampling, youth endorsements, retail development, and later domestic manufacturing.

    Aftermath

    Indonesia became an important market and production base for Pocky and other Glico products in Southeast Asia and North America.

    Source

  • 1990

    Develop alternative direct-to-consumer distribution channelsStrategy

    Background

    Glico explored ways to move beyond conventional confectionery distribution and place snacks closer to consumers in workplaces and other nontraditional locations.

    Action taken

    The company developed Office Glico, using snack boxes and refrigerators in offices to support convenient self-service purchasing.

    Aftermath

    The initiative reflected Glico’s continuing experimentation with vending, direct distribution, and impulse-consumption formats.

    Source

  • 1966

    Launch Pocky as a clean-handling chocolate biscuit stickProduct launch

    Background

    Glico sought to extend the successful stick-snack format associated with Pretz into a chocolate confectionery product that could be eaten conveniently without coating the consumer’s fingers.

    Action taken

    The company coated most of a biscuit stick in chocolate while leaving one end uncovered as a grip.

    Aftermath

    Pocky became Glico’s leading international brand and a foundation for global product adaptation, marketing, and local manufacturing.

    Source

Sources19 sources

  1. 1Glico Global Official Site: Company Profileglico.com
  2. 2Glico Global Official Site: Corporate Dataglico.com
  3. 3Glico Global Official Site: Historyglico.com
  4. 4Glico Global Official Site: Productsglico.com
  5. 5Glico Global Official Site: Global Locationsglico.com
  6. 6Glico Global Official Site: Pocky Historypocky.glico.com
  7. 7Glico Global Official Site: Pocky Indonesia Brand Strategyglico.com
  8. 8Ezaki Glico Annual Report 2025glico.com
  9. 9Notice of the 121st Annual Shareholders Meeting 2026glico.com
  10. 10Glico Global Official Site: Expo 2025 Osakaglico.com
  11. 11Ezaki Glico voluntary product recall noticeglico.com
  12. 12Ezaki Glico chilled-product shipment restoration noticeglico.com
  13. 13Glico-Morinaga caseen.wikipedia.org
  14. 14Glicoen.wikipedia.org
  15. 15Riichi Ezaki investigates glycogen from oyster brothglico.com
  16. 16Glico Manufacturing Indonesia begins full-scale Pocky productionglico.com
  17. 17Core Pocky products receive a major refreshglico.com
  18. 18Glico x FM802 FUTURE EXPO LIVE “17 SPIRITS”glico.com
  19. 19Develop alternative direct-to-consumer distribution channelsglico.com

Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/ezaki-glico · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled