Meiji Ice

Meiji Ice is the name used here for the ice-cream and frozen-dessert business and product portfolio marketed by Meiji Co., Ltd. in Japan. It is not a separately incorporated or publicly traded company, and the available references do not establish a distinct founding year or individual founder for the ice-cream portfolio as a whole. Meiji Co., Ltd. is part of Meiji Group, whose parent is Meiji Holdings Co., Ltd. The operating company is headquartered in Kyobashi, Chuo City, Tokyo. The brand’s identity is therefore closely connected to the wider Meiji food business rather than to a standalone ice-cream company. The most prominent product family in the portfolio is Meiji Essel Super Cup. Meiji says development of its flagship Cho-Vanilla flavor began in 1991 and that the product was released in 1994. Its relatively generous cup format, familiar flavors, and changing seasonal and limited editions have made the line a visible part of Japan’s mass-market ice-cream category. The name “Essel” combines ideas of excellence and essentiality, expressing the intended combination of quality and an everyday, widely accessible treat. Over time, the range has included standard cups, smaller multi-packs, special-edition flavors, and the former layered-dessert subline Super Cup Sweet’s. The latter combined ice cream with other ingredients in dessert-like layers and is no longer sold. Meiji’s wider frozen portfolio is broader than Super Cup. It includes family and multi-pack products, soft-cone and bar formats, parfait-style cups, matcha products under the Tsuji Ri name, frozen yogurt desserts associated with Meiji Bulgaria, and richer or more ingredient-focused offerings such as Dear Milk and Meiji The Premium. These products address varied occasions: a single-serve convenience-store snack, a multipack for the household freezer, a chocolate-forward frozen treat, or a dairy-led premium cup. The exact assortment changes over time, and the company’s product pages list current products and seasonal variations rather than promising that every flavor remains available year-round. The portfolio is built around both continuity and rotation. Recognizable core products provide repeat-purchase anchors, while limited flavors, collaborations, package changes, and seasonal releases renew interest. Official company materials document campaigns and collaborations for Super Cup, including social promotions and tie-ins, and product launches using new flavor combinations. In 2025 the company also introduced multilingual package information on selected Super Cup products, explicitly addressing inbound visitors in Japan. The move reflects a domestic brand seeking to make its products more legible to international consumers without changing the portfolio’s primary Japanese-market base. Meiji’s commercial decisions also reflect cost pressures affecting the wider food industry. The company announced price revisions for a range of its ice creams in 2024, including Super Cup and other products. In June 2026, Japan’s Fair Trade Commission conducted an on-site inspection concerning suspected antitrust violations in the determination of selling prices for ice cream and related products. Meiji publicly said it would take the inspection seriously and cooperate fully. The inspection is a significant regulatory development, but it is not itself a finding of liability; the available company notice does not establish a final outcome. Meiji Ice is best understood as a substantial domestic product portfolio within a diversified food company, rather than as an independent brand owner with its own separately reported financial statements. Its documented strengths are a broad range of formats, a prominent mainstream flagship, recurring flavor innovation, and the ability to connect ice cream to Meiji’s wider dairy, chocolate, and yogurt capabilities. The product portfolio remains active, with the company continuing to publish product information, releases, and corporate notices. Its precise corporate launch date and the history of every product line are not sufficiently documented in the cited references to assign a single origin year to the overall Meiji Ice portfolio.

Meiji Ice is a portfolio designation for ice cream and frozen desserts sold by Meiji Co., Ltd.; the available sources do not identify a separate corporate entity or single founding date for this portfolio. Meiji Co., Ltd. manufactures and sells dairy products, confectionery and other foods, and is part of Meiji Group. The corporate outline lists Meiji Co.’s headquarters in Kyobashi, Chuo City, Tokyo, and identifies Meiji Holdings Co., Ltd. as the group holding company. Accordingly, the history of Meiji Ice is best traced through its documented product families and the company’s portfolio activity, rather than treated as a distinct company with its own founder or ownership history. The clearest early milestone in the documented ice-cream portfolio is the development of Meiji Essel Super Cup. Meiji’s brand-history material says development of the Cho-Vanilla product began in 1991 and that the product went on sale in 1994. The English product page gives the specific launch date as September 20, 1994. The brand’s own explanation presents “Essel” as a constructed name drawing on “excellent” and “essential”: it was intended to convey a high-quality product that could also be a familiar, everyday ice cream. The company’s historical material associates the Super Cup identity with substantial portions and records successive package changes and flavor releases. Early varieties included yogurt-style, chocolate, strawberry, cookie, coffee and other flavors, illustrating a pattern that would continue: a familiar core proposition supported by regular rotation and experimentation. Super Cup became the portfolio’s most prominent documented family. Its core cup range, smaller mini cups, changing limited flavors and dessert-inspired variants allow the product name to span multiple occasions and formats. The company later developed Super Cup Sweet’s, a layered frozen dessert combining ice cream with complementary ingredients to evoke more elaborate desserts. Meiji’s current retrospective describes Sweet’s as discontinued, so it belongs to the historical record rather than the current product lineup. The brand history also records numerous package redesigns, including updates in 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2014 and 2019, as well as a later anniversary-related redesign. These changes show how the company refreshed the visual presentation while retaining the established product name. The portfolio expanded beyond the flagship cup. The company’s product listings organize ice creams into such groups as parfaits, soft-cone multipacks, bar multipacks, Tsuji Ri products, Familia, The Premium, chocolate-focused products, Bulgaria Frozen Yogurt Dessert and Dear Milk. The ranges differ in format and emphasis. Familia serves household freezer use; soft-cone and bar assortments offer individually portioned multipacks; parfaits pair ice cream with dessert-like components; Bulgaria frozen yogurt dessert combines richness with a tangy yogurt character; and Dear Milk places dairy flavor at the center. Meiji describes Dear Milk as made using dairy products produced in Tokachi, Hokkaido, and presents its milk profile, smooth texture and clean finish as defining qualities. These examples demonstrate the portfolio’s connection to Meiji’s wider dairy and confectionery capabilities, without implying that every line has been continuously available. Marketing and product development have repeatedly relied on flavor novelty and partnerships. Meiji has used social campaigns, limited merchandise and collaborative promotions around Super Cup. In 2024, official company listings documented a collaboration with Village Vanguard, including a treasure-hunt promotion and limited goods, and a collaboration involving the Super Cup Matcha flavor and Yojiya Cafe. Other campaign listings promoted new or featured flavors and connected the products to online participation. Such activities build awareness around particular products and moments; the sources do not provide measured sales effects, so no commercial outcome is assigned here. Meiji has also responded to changes in market conditions and audiences. In 2024 it announced shipment-price revisions across a range of ice creams, including Super Cup, following changing cost conditions; the notice states the affected product categories and effective shipment timing. In 2025, three Super Cup varieties received multilingual package descriptions aimed at inbound visitors. These are distinct decisions: one concerned commercial pricing, while the other addressed product communication for people shopping in Japan who may not read Japanese. A major regulatory development followed in 2026. Meiji publicly confirmed that the Fair Trade Commission had conducted an on-site inspection concerning suspected antitrust violations in the setting of selling prices for ice cream and related products. The company said it would take the inspection seriously and cooperate. The notice does not report a final enforcement determination, and the inspection alone should not be represented as proof of wrongdoing. It is included as a significant reported controversy, with the outcome left unresolved in the cited material. Today, Meiji continues to publish an active ice-cream assortment through its Japanese corporate product site. Because products and flavors change seasonally, the public lineup is a snapshot rather than a permanent catalog. The documented record supports a profile of a domestic portfolio anchored by a long-running, mass-market cup brand and complemented by household packs, bars, parfaits, frozen yogurt and premium dairy-led products. It does not support assigning one founding year to the entire portfolio or treating “Meiji Ice” as an independent corporate entity.

• 2026

  Fair Trade Commission conducts inspection concerning ice-cream price setting

  [7]Meiji notice on Fair Trade Commission inspectionmeiji.co.jp

  Meiji confirmed an inspection concerning suspected antitrust violations in selling-price determination for ice cream and related products and said it would cooperate. The notice does not state a final outcome.

• 2025

  Inbound-oriented multilingual Super Cup packaging announced

  [6]Meiji 2025 multilingual Super Cup packaging announcementmeiji.co.jp

  Meiji announced multilingual descriptions for packaging on three Super Cup products, aimed at inbound visitors.

• 2024

  Meiji announces shipment-price revisions across ice-cream lines

  [5]Meiji 2024 price revision noticemeiji.co.jp

  The company announced revised shipment prices for Super Cup and other listed ice-cream products, effective from September 2024 shipments.

• 2024

  Shanghai ice-cream production base begins operation

  [10]Shanghai ice-cream production base begins operationmeiji.co.jp

  Meiji reported that a new production base in Shanghai began operating in March. This is a development in the wider group’s overseas business.

• 2019

  Super Cup marks its 25th anniversary

  [9]Super Cup marks its 25th anniversarymeiji.co.jp

  Meiji’s 2020 release states that the product reached its 25th anniversary in 2019, confirming the 1994 launch-era chronology.

• 1996

  Super Cup receives an early package redesign

  [2]Meiji Essel Super Cup brand historymeiji.co.jp

  Meiji’s retrospective records a package renewal in 1996 and notes a food-industry product award in connection with the period.

• 1994

  Meiji Essel Super Cup launches

  [3]Meiji Essel Super Cup English product pagemeiji.co.jp

  Meiji reports the launch of Super Cup Cho-Vanilla in 1994; its English product page specifies September 20, 1994.

• 1991

  Development of Essel Super Cup Cho-Vanilla begins

  [2]Meiji Essel Super Cup brand historymeiji.co.jp

  Meiji’s brand-history material dates the start of development for the original Super Cup Cho-Vanilla to 1991.

A broad Japanese-market portfolio spanning accessible, generous everyday ice cream and household formats alongside premium, dairy-forward and dessert-inspired products.

• Cup ice cream · 1994

  Meiji Essel Super Cup

  The flagship cup-ice-cream family, launched in 1994 with Cho-Vanilla. Meiji positions the range around a generous serving and familiar, approachable flavors, with core products complemented by seasonal and limited-edition varieties. The broader family has included mini cups and the now-discontinued Sweet’s layered dessert range. Meiji’s current product pages show products such as Cho-Vanilla, chocolate cookie and other flavors, though availability varies.

• Layered frozen dessert

  Meiji Super Cup Sweet’s

  A former Super Cup subline that layered ice cream with other ingredients to create dessert-inspired combinations. Meiji’s retrospective describes the range as a layered ice-cream dessert and explicitly states that it is no longer sold. Past examples included flavors inspired by mont blanc, fruit tart, shortcake and tiramisu.

• Dairy-led ice cream

  Meiji Dear Milk

  A milk-focused cup ice cream that Meiji describes as made exclusively with dairy products produced in Tokachi, Hokkaido. The company emphasizes a rich dairy character, smooth texture and clean finish. The line also includes a smaller multi-pack and seasonal or variant products, according to the company’s product listing.

• Frozen yogurt dessert

  Meiji Bulgaria Frozen Yogurt Dessert

  A frozen dessert under the Meiji Bulgaria name, combining a full-bodied character with the refreshing tartness associated with yogurt. Meiji’s listed assortment has included plain and fruit variations, such as strawberry, muscat and white peach. Product flavors and availability may change.

• Soft-cone multipack

  Meiji Uzumaki Soft

  A household multipack of small soft-serve-style cones. Meiji lists vanilla, chocolate and mixed vanilla-and-chocolate flavors, packaged as multiple individually portioned cones for sharing or repeated at-home servings.

• Household ice cream

  Meiji Familia

  A large-format ice-cream range intended for home consumption and sharing. Meiji includes Familia in its current ice-cream portfolio and has listed two-liter products among its range. Specific varieties and availability can change.

• Premium ice cream

  Meiji The Premium

  A richer, premium-positioned ice-cream line. Meiji’s listed assortment includes a vanilla cup described as a generously rich premium ice cream, offering a more indulgent point within the broader portfolio.

• Parfait-style ice cream

  Meiji Parfait Series

  Single-serve dessert-style ice creams presented in a parfait format. Meiji’s listed products include chocolate and strawberry-and-chocolate varieties, combining ice cream with a more elaborate layered or mixed dessert experience.

• Matcha and tea ice cream

  Tsuji Ri Series

  A tea-oriented frozen-dessert range associated with the Tsuji Ri name, including matcha products and multipack formats. Meiji’s listings and price-revision notices confirm the presence of the series in its ice-cream portfolio, although individual products may vary over time.

• 2026

  Fair Trade Commission inspection concerning suspected ice-cream price-setting violations

  Meiji announced that Japan’s Fair Trade Commission inspected the company over suspected antitrust violations related to selling-price determination for ice cream and other products. Meiji said it would take the inspection seriously and cooperate fully. The cited notice establishes an inspection and suspicion, not a final finding or penalty.

  Source

Read more

• 2024Essel Super Cup and Village Vanguard collaboration

  Japan

  Meiji announced a collaboration featuring a treasure-hunt campaign and limited-edition goods. Company notices list the campaign from April and the limited goods from mid-April, with later social-media activity also appearing in the company’s campaign listings.

  Outcome. The promotion and merchandise were time-limited. The cited company notices do not report sales or other measured commercial results.

  Source
• 2024Essel Super Cup Matcha and Yojiya Cafe collaboration

  Japan

  Meiji’s campaign listings document a collaboration connecting Super Cup Matcha with Yojiya Cafe. The promotion was presented as a limited campaign in the Japanese market.

  Outcome. The company marked the campaign as ended; no sales impact is stated in the cited listing.

  Source
• 2024Super Cup flavor and product launch promotions

  Japan

  Meiji’s campaign archive lists Super Cup promotions tied to product and flavor activity, including support for Matcha, a campaign with Kinoko no Yama, and a launch-related promotion for the Bulgaria Frozen Yogurt Dessert strawberry flavor.

  Outcome. These were time-limited promotional activities; the cited archive does not give participation totals or sales results.

  Source
• 2024Dear Milk summer greeting campaign

  Japan

  Meiji ran a summer campaign thanking Dear Milk fans, framed as a seasonal greeting for ice-cream enthusiasts.

  Outcome. The listed campaign concluded in 2024; no measured outcome is given in the company archive.

  Source

• 2026

  Cooperate with Fair Trade Commission inspectionOther

  Background

  The Fair Trade Commission conducted an on-site inspection concerning suspected antitrust violations in the determination of selling prices for ice cream and related products.

  Action taken

  Meiji said it would take the inspection seriously and fully cooperate with the authority.

  Aftermath

  The company notice does not state a final decision, enforcement measure or outcome.

  Source

• 2025

  Add multilingual descriptions to selected Super Cup packagingStrategy

  Background

  Meiji presented the packaging as an inbound-oriented measure for visitors in Japan.

  Action taken

  The company announced multilingual descriptions on packaging for three Super Cup products, including Cho-Vanilla, Matcha and Chocolate Cookie.

  Aftermath

  The company’s announcement confirms the planned packaging rollout but does not provide measured results.

  Source

• 2024

  Revise shipment prices for selected ice creamsPrice change

  Background

  Meiji announced price revisions affecting a range of ice creams, including Essel Super Cup, parfaits, Bulgaria Frozen Yogurt Dessert, Uzumaki Soft, mini-cup products and other listed items.

  Action taken

  The company revised shipment prices from September 2024 shipments. Its notice listed product-specific changes and a price-revision range for Super Cup.

  Aftermath

  The cited notice documents the planned revisions but does not quantify subsequent consumer response or sales effects.

  Source

1. 1Meiji ice-cream product catalogmeiji.co.jp
2. 2Meiji Essel Super Cup brand historymeiji.co.jp
3. 3Meiji Essel Super Cup English product pagemeiji.co.jp
4. 4Meiji Group and company outlinemeiji.co.jp
5. 5Meiji 2024 price revision noticemeiji.co.jp
6. 6Meiji 2025 multilingual Super Cup packaging announcementmeiji.co.jp
7. 7Meiji notice on Fair Trade Commission inspectionmeiji.co.jp
8. 8Meiji campaign archive for 2024meiji.co.jp
9. 9Super Cup marks its 25th anniversarymeiji.co.jp
10. 10Shanghai ice-cream production base begins operationmeiji.co.jp