Takasaki Morinaga Co., Ltd.

Takasaki Morinaga Co., Ltd. (高崎森永株式会社) is a Japanese confectionery manufacturer headquartered in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, and a wholly owned production subsidiary of Morinaga & Co., Ltd. It operates what Morinaga describes as its flagship factory — a leading factory that constantly innovates, evolves and communicates — producing many of the group's core products, including Morinaga Biscuits, Hi-Chew candy, Carré de Chocolat and DARS chocolate, and frozen items such as Chocolate Monaka Jumbo and Ita-Choco Ice. The company was established on 1 April 2011 as the operating entity for Morinaga's new Takasaki plant, built on land acquired from Kirin Holdings at the former Kirin Brewery Takasaki site. Production began in August 2011 at the Takasaki No. 1 Factory, followed by the No. 2 Factory in August 2013 and the No. 3 Factory in 2020/2021, the latter adding ice cream lines. As production sites elsewhere were consolidated, lines for Hi-Chew and Carré de Chocolat were transferred from the closed Morinaga Tsukaguchi Factory, and part of Hi-Chew Mini production was moved from Morinaga Kofu Foods. Takasaki Morinaga's business is the manufacture and sale of confectionery and frozen desserts. Its product range spans chocolate (Carré de Chocolat, DARS), biscuits (Marie, Moonlight, Chocolate Chip Cookie, Choice, Almond, Black Moonlight), candy (Hi-Chew) and ice cream (Chocolate Monaka Jumbo, Ita-Choco Ice). The plant holds FSSC 22000 food safety certification for all three factories and employed 525 people as of April 2024, with a site area of 138,290 m². The company is led by President Shinichi Umemura.

Takasaki Morinaga Co., Ltd. was created as part of a broader restructuring of Morinaga & Co.'s production system. In 2007, Morinaga announced a new production framework centered on the future consolidation of manufacturing plants. As part of this plan, the company acquired land at the former Kirin Brewery Takasaki site from Kirin Holdings and announced it would build a new factory there. Morinaga and Kirin explained the choice of Takasaki by noting, among other factors, that the city is served by expressways such as the Kan-Etsu Expressway, improving logistics efficiency. On 20 October 2009, Morinaga announced that construction of the new Takasaki factory would begin in April 2010 and that operations would start in April 2011. On 1 April 2011, Takasaki Morinaga was established as the new company to operate the Takasaki plant. Production began in August 2011 at the Takasaki No. 1 Factory, which manufactured biscuits such as Marie and Moonlight. In August 2013, the Takasaki No. 2 Factory began operations, taking over production of part of the Hi-Chew series and Carré de Chocolat from the closed Morinaga Tsukaguchi Factory. In April 2020, production of part of Hi-Chew Mini was transferred from the closed Morinaga Kofu Foods. In 2020/2021, the Takasaki No. 3 Factory, equipped with ice cream production lines, began operations, manufacturing DARS, Chocolate Monaka Jumbo, Ita-Choco Ice and other products. The company has continued to invest in food safety and quality management. It obtained FSSC 22000 certification for the No. 1 and No. 2 factories in November 2016, and for the No. 3 Factory in January 2022. As of April 2024, the company employed 525 people and occupied a site area of 138,290 m². It remains a wholly owned subsidiary within the Morinaga Group, positioned as the group's flagship factory for the efficient production of core products.

• Morinaga & Co. announces a new production system centered on future plant consolidation; land at the former Kirin Brewery Takasaki site is acquired for a new factory.

• Morinaga announces the new Takasaki factory will break ground in April 2010 and start operations in April 2011.

• Takasaki Morinaga Co., Ltd. is established as the operating company for the new Takasaki plant.

• Takasaki No. 1 Factory begins production, manufacturing biscuits such as Marie and Moonlight.

• Takasaki No. 2 Factory begins production; Hi-Chew and Carré de Chocolat lines are transferred from the closed Morinaga Tsukaguchi Factory.

• FSSC 22000 food safety certification obtained for the No. 1 and No. 2 factories.

• Production of part of Hi-Chew Mini is transferred from the closed Morinaga Kofu Foods.

• Takasaki No. 3 Factory begins production.

• Takasaki No. 3 Factory, equipped with ice cream lines, is reported as operational, producing DARS, Chocolate Monaka Jumbo and Ita-Choco Ice.

• FSSC 22000 certification obtained for the No. 3 Factory.

Morinaga & Co.'s flagship production factory — a leading factory that constantly innovates, evolves and communicates — manufacturing the group's core confectionery and frozen-dessert brands under world-class food safety management.

• Carré de Chocolat series

• DARS

• Moonlight

• Chocolate Chip Cookie

• Marie

• Choice

• Almond

• Black Moonlight

• Dear (limited-time product)

• Hi-Chew series

• Chocolate Monaka Jumbo

• Ita-Choco Ice

1. 1高崎森永株式会社 公式サイトtakasaki-morinaga.jp
2. 2会社案内 | 高崎森永株式会社takasaki-morinaga.jp
3. 3会社概要 | 高崎森永株式会社takasaki-morinaga.jp
4. 4グループ会社 | 高崎森永株式会社takasaki-morinaga.jp
5. 5高崎森永 - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org
6. 6Takasaki Morinaga - Wikidatawikidata.org