- Chocolate culture in Japan: Chocolate was not known until the 20th century in Japan. It was first manufactured in 1918 by Meiji Company which was specialized in sweets. Chocolate was considered as a sort of sweets for a long time so you’ll find all shapes and sizes of chocolate in Japan with a wide variety of flavors. Chocolate boxes might be the most common gifts in several occasions in Japanese culture such as “Respect for the Aged Day”, “Valentine’s Day”, “Coming of Age Day” and personal anniversaries.
For decades, Japanese were affected by Western culture and copied the Belgian styles, receipts and techniques but during the 20th century they started having their own flavors and methods in the industry including unique ingredients that won’t be found elsewhere such as red beans, sesame, and Japanese green tea.
The willingness of the Japanese experts to excel the classic way of chocolate manufacturing was always followed by the tendency to add traditional taste and make something ‘different’. This pushed almost all international chocolate companies in Japan, not only local companies, to create new special receipts, flavors, colors, shapes, and even special wrappers that might only be found in the Japan.
In a relatively short time, Japanese chocolate companies have gained huge success but still they’re known in their local market only. We might all know international chocolate manufacturers such as Mars, Cadbury, Harshey, Mondelez, and Nestle but few might have heard about the Japanese market leader Meiji, which is considered one of the top greatest chocolate manufacturers in the world.
- Chocolate culture in Japan: Chocolate was not known until the 20th century in Japan. It was first manufactured in 1918 by Meiji Company which was specialized in sweets. Chocolate was considered as a sort of sweets for a long time so you’ll find all shapes and sizes of chocolate in Japan with a wide variety of flavors. Chocolate boxes might be the most common gifts in several occasions in Japanese culture such as “Respect for the Aged Day”, “Valentine’s Day”, “Coming of Age Day” and personal anniversaries.