Fun Facts About Pocky!

Sep 05, 2021by Courtney Thompson

Pocky is one of the most notable Japanese snacks, easily recognizable by its signature red box in countries all across the world. Not only is it an iconic Japanese snack, but Pocky is also fun to eat and comes in many different colors and flavors! Here are a few fun facts that you might not know about Pocky!

Pocky has actually been around since 1966! Despite how long it’s been around, Pocky is still extremely popular today and is featured in many shows and anime! It was invented by the Ezaki Glico company and brought to America in 2003, which is why you may not have known just how long Pocky has actually been around.

This sweet snack debuted in Japanese grocery stores under the name “Chocktek” and has been a popular Japanese snack ever since, switching its name shortly after its debut in Asian grocery stores. The now well-known name “Pocky” was chosen because of the Japanese onomatopoeia pokkin, which is the sound that the biscuits make when you take a bite.

Pocky: Matcha

When people think of Pocky, the variety of flavors often comes to mind, but this wasn’t always the case. During the beginning of Pocky’s production, each Pocky stick was actually hand-dipped in chocolate, which was the only flavor option. Due to the success of the original Pocky flavor, Glico began introducing more Pocky flavors like almond Pocky and strawberry Pocky. Fast forward to today, and there have been over 50 different Pocky flavors!

One of the most genius parts of Pocky is the uncoated bottom part of the stick-shaped biscuit, which serves as a mess-free handle to eat it with. The idea to keep the bottom of Pocky uncovered actually came from the Japanese dish kushi katsu, which is skewered fried pork. This makes Pocky a convenient snack to eat on the go!

This was clearly a clever design choice, because people love Pocky so much that there’s actually a whole day dedicated to Pocky! The first ever Pocky Day was on November 11, 1999. 1999 was the 11^th year of Heisei on the Japanese calendar, so this was declared Pocky Day because all the 1’s resemble Pocky sticks! You can still celebrate Pocky each year on November 11!

Pocky is much more than just a snack to enjoy on its own. If you want to get creative with your Pocky, it also makes a great stirring stick for drinks! Chocolate Pocky and cookies and cream Pocky are perfect for stirring drinks like hot chocolate, coffee, and even dessert cocktails, and the matcha Pocky is, of course, a great stirrer for matcha lattes! There are a lot of other creative ways to use Pocky in your cooking too. Consider using Pocky sticks for things like cake pops, or to pair with another Japanese dessert, you could use Pocky sticks as the skewer for dango! The strawberry Pocky or matcha Pocky flavors would perfectly complement the white, pink, and green color scheme of traditional hanami dango which is enjoyed in the spring.

You can get both of these Pocky flavors, along with the cookies and cream Pocky, on Bokksu Market! It can be hard to find classic Pocky outside of Japan, let alone all of the different flavors, so Bokksu Market’s online Asian grocery stores is a great resource! You won’t have to walk or drive to an Asian grocery store anymore because Bokksu Market has a huge selection of authentic Japanese and Asian grocery items! If you don’t have an Asian or Japanese grocery store near you, you can easily order groceries online through Bokksu Market!

By Courtney Thompson

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