ISM & ProSweets 2025: Morinaga’s Hi-Chew aims for further success on the European market
14 Feb 2025 | Morinaga
Japanese confectionery company Morinaga showcased its Hi-Chew chewing candy brand featuring “real fruit flavors and a unique texture” at ISM & ProSweets Cologne 2025. We spoke with Shun Misumi, chief manager for Hi-Chew, about the product’s ingredients and formulation, as well as Morinaga’s strategy for entering the European market, including how the company is navigating the EU’s challenging regulatory environment.
Hello and welcome.
This is Milana with Food ingredients first speaking to Shun Misumi of Morinaga at ISM and Grow Sweets Cologne 2025.
Could you please tell us about the products you're presenting this year?
Yes, sure, this is our global brand called Haihu.
This was born in Japan in 1975.
It's a sweet soft candy product with a real fruit flavor, and it has a very unique texture and we are now developing the European market right now and we decided to exhibit in ISM this year for this brand.
And what trends are you responding to with your products?
I think, chewy canned confectionery is a trend for.
It's not a trend, it's a must have for kids and adults.
So, actually it's, I think it's an essential product, and we, we hope that we could have like the the teenagers and young adults from our products.
And how do you plan to stand out from other similar products that already exist on the European market?
Yep, as I mentioned, this has a real fruit flavor, so compared to other.
Competitors, it's very, once you eat it, you could feel the fruit flavor and one other thing is the texture.
You could, it's quite chewy and it, it lasts a long, long time compared to the other competitors.
And could you tell us a bit about the production process from glucose syrup and sugar and the key factor is the gelatin.
We use pork gelatin, but yeah, that's the main ingredients.
And how do you respond to environmental sustainability?
Huh, yeah, we're that is a huge consideration for us also, and we're trying to change the palm oil to a sustainable palm oil also and we're trying to.
Make the.
Material thinner so that it's more recyclable and more good for the environment.
And have you faced any regulatory challenges when entering the European market?
Regulatory challenges.
It's EU compliant, so we haven't faced that much of an issue right now.
And in general, what are your observations now that you're in the European market?
And what countries are you planning to enter next?
Yep, we are already in UK and France, Germany, Swiss, and the Scandinavian countries and Spain.
So, once the customers eat it, they love it.
So we have it try to.
Have a lot of customers try by sampling it.
We're looking for distributors in Italy and the Netherlands right now and, of course not only that but the Eastern European countries also so we have a lot of.
Space to fill.
Yet we've only, we started in 2018, so it's the 7th year right now here in Europe.
So I'm trying to fill the market right now.
And is there anything else that you would like to highlight?
Please try.
It's definitely wants to try.
You love it.
Thank you so much.
All right, thank you.
