Pocky (????, Pokk?, Japanese pronunciation: [pok:i:]) /'p?ki/ is a Japanese snack food produced by Ezaki Glico. Pocky was first sold in 1966, and consists of chocolate-coated biscuit sticks. It was named after the Japanese onomatopoetic word pokkin (????).
The original was followed by almond coatings in 1971, and strawberry coatings in 1977. Today, the product line includes variations as milk, mousse, green tea, honey, banana, cookies and cream, and coconut flavored coatings, and themed products such as "Decorer Pocky", with colorful decorative stripes in the coating, and "Men's Pocky", a dark (bittersweet) chocolate and "mature" version.
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World distribution
Pocky is a very popular treat in Japan, especially among teenagers. In bars, it is sometimes served with a glass of ice water. It also has a significant presence in other Asian countries, such as China, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Burma, Brunei and Vietnam. In Malaysia, Pocky was sold under the name "Rocky" for four decades. In 2014 it was rebranded under the name "Pocky" with a new package design and slogan. Commercials featuring Malaysian singer Yuna, also began to air in 2015 in order to give brand recognition and a sales boost.
In Europe Pocky is produced under license by Mondel?z International and sold under the name "Mikado" in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. "Mikado" can be found at most supermarkets and many international food stores.
In the United States and Canada Pocky can be found in Asian supermarkets and the international section of most large supermarkets, such as World Market, H-E-B, Wegmans, Kroger, Walmart (in the Asian foods aisle), some Target stores, some Walgreens, Meijer, Fiesta, and anime convention dealers' rooms. In the United States, Pocky is marketed both by LU (in chocolate and peanut butter flavors), and by Ezaki Glico's American division, Ezaki Glico USA Corporation (in chocolate and strawberry flavors).
In Australia and New Zealand, it is usually sold in Asian convenience markets, along with other Asian foods and products. Like the United States and Canada there are also widely available in the international sections on the Asian food aisles of most large supermarket chains. Specialty importers also exist in Australia and New Zealand.
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Flavours And Variations
Pocky can be found in dozens of varieties such as chocolate, strawberry, and almond. Some of the more unusual flavors include the seasonal flavors of honey (spring) and kiwifruit mango (summer). The bittersweet version of chocolate Pocky is known as Men's Pocky. Regional flavors of Pocky include grape (Nagano), y?bari melon (Hokkaid?), giant mikan (tangerine, sold in the Ky?sh? region), powdered tea azuki bean (Kyoto), Kobe wine (Kobe), and five-fusion berry (Goka). Also, flavors such as banana, lychee, coffee, caramel, marble royal milk tea, melon, Daim bar (sold in the UK), milk, honey and milk, cream cheese, berry, sweet potato, coconut, crush (crunchy cracker pieces in chocolate), corn on the cob, pineapple, pumpkin, kurogoma (black sesame), kinako (soy bean flour), marron, Brazilian pudding, cherry, tomato, orange, mikan, blueberry, apple yogurt, hazelnut, mixed berry and green tea are available.
The latest flavours are special editions, 2 two-tone flavors in a larger box than chocolate or strawberry Pocky provides ( Special Editions: 2.47 oz. [70 g], Normal Pocky: 1.41 oz. [40 g]).The 2 newest flavors are cookies and cream and banana chocolate. Both have brown biscuit sticks (in the chocolate banana Pocky case, the biscuit is the chocolate and banana cream.) The cookies and cream consists of blended chocolate biscuit cookies with a slight chocolaty flavor of the biscuit.
Special variations of Pocky include Decorer Pocky (which features extra decorative icing) and Mousse Pocky (which features extra thick, "creamy" mousse-like icing and is more exclusive). Unlike other Pocky variations, Mousse Pocky packages contain fewer pieces than regular Pocky, with only nine per pack.
Dessert Pocky features Pocky sticks covered in a generous helping of cream. These flavors include: Double Chocolate, Tiramisu, Chocolate Banana, Marron White, Chestnut, Strawberry Shortcake, and Orange. Dessert Pocky usually comes with five packets in a box with three in each sleeve.
Another variation of Pocky is the My Calorie Pocky (?? ???? ????, mai karor? pokk?), which has one-fourth the calories of regular chocolate Pocky.
Other variations include: Pocky G (marketed as being "hard and rich"), Giant Pocky (strawberry- and chocolate-flavored; each box contains 20 individually wrapped sticks with real dried strawberry; each stick is about 10" long, and about three times the diameter of a normal Pocky stick), Reverse Pocky (cracker on the outside with the filling in the middle), Fortune-Telling Pocky (each stick contained a "fortune"), and Pocky Cake (a literal cake shaped to look like a Pocky stick. Each cake contained, according to its packaging, raisins, chocolate cream, orange peel, and an Italian cake batter).
A related product is Pretz, which is an unglazed version of Pocky, featuring flavors like tomato, pizza, and salad, as well as sweet flavors such as cocoa and French toast.
Pronunciation
Some confusion exists in the English-speaking world as to how to pronounce "Pocky". Japanese pokk? is pronounced [pok:i:]. Both it and its Roman transcription are analogous to English words such as "rocky", which is taken into Japanese as rokk?, suggesting an intended English pronunciation of /'p?ki/.
Glico Morinaga case
Following threats by the Monster with 21 Faces to poison Glico confections and the resulting mass withdrawal of Glico products from shelves, a man wearing a Yomiuri Giants baseball cap was caught placing Glico chocolate on a store shelf by a security camera. This man was believed to be the mastermind behind the Monster with 21 Faces. The security camera photo was made public after this incident.
Melamine contamination
On September 30, 2008, Hong Kong authorities announced that melamine had been detected in Pocky Men's coffee cream-coated biscuit sticks made in China. Ezaki Glico had no immediate comment on the reported contamination. The melamine contamination level was found to be 43 ppm (the legal limit is 2.5 ppm).
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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