In Japan, there are lots of ice cream brands.
Each brand has characteristic features.
I work in the Japanese ice cream industry. So, I review these brands from my view.
There are 2 major sectors
In the Japanese ice cream industry, there are 2 major sectors.
The one is confectionery companies. Another one is dairy companies.
In confectionery companies, their ice cream tends to fancy and characteristic designs.
In dairy companies, their ice cream tends to authentic basic ice cream, ingredients are really nice.
Both of them are really nice taste and popular among all ages of Japanese people.
Confectionery companies
LOTTE
LOTTE is famous for Yukimi Daihuku which is a round shape ice cream covered with mochi.
It is a combination of Japanese traditional food and ice cream.
They make other unique ice creams.
Such as Coolish and Sou. Both of them are a combination of ice cream and crushed ice.
Those are good for summer.
Morinaga Seika
Morinaga Seika is famous for Choco Monaka Jumbo which consists of thin sheet chocolate sandwiched by ice cream and monaka wafers.
They make another unique ice cream which is ice cream covered by chocolate.
It looks like a chocolate bar and it consists of 55% of ice cream and 45% of chocolate.
Both of them costs around 140 yen at convenience stores. So, it’s worth buying.
Glico
Glico is famous for Papico which is a frozen smoothie that is in 2 bottles.
They also make other unique shape ice creams such as Ice No Mi, Giant Cone, and Panapp.
The company also makes ice cream which is sold by vending machines. It is really famous for foreigners.
Dairy companies
Morinaga Milk
Moringa Milk is famous for Parm which is vanilla ice cream covered with softly melted chocolate.
They also make Pino and MOW. Both of them are really rich in flavor.
All their product is simple, but they have confidence in their ingredients and I agree with that.
Meiji
Meiji is famous for Super Cup which is simple ice cream, but high quality, a large amount of quantity, and at a low price.
They also make Super Cup Sweet’s which is 4 layers of ice cream. It consists of 2 different flavors of ice cream and 2 different types of sauce or cookie. It is similar to cake.
Ohayo milk
Ohayo milk is famous for BRULEE which is a Cream Brulee ice cream.
It is really high-quality ice cream. The top of it is covered with caramelization cream which is a crispy texture.
When it was sold in 2017, it was sold out from every store.
They also make a soft-serve ice cream which is made of jersey milk. It is also rich in flavor.
Ice cream companies
Some companies sell only ice cream.
There are 2 famous ice cream companies.
Akagi Nyugyo
Akagi Nyugyo is famous for Gari Gari Kun which is a mix of a popsicle and shaved ice.
They have only made ice cream since 1961.
Recently, they make lots of ice cream collaborations with supermarkets and convenience stores.
So, many store brand ice creams are made by this company.
Marunaga Seika
Marunaga Seika is famous for Shirokuma which is a shaved ice with fruits and condensed milk.
They also make an ice manjyu which is ice cream with azuki beans. Which is similar to Japanese traditional food manjyu.
Which is the NO.1 sales company?
In the Japanese ice cream industry, sales ranking is changing every year.
However, Morinaga Seika is NO.1 sales company in 2020, because Choco Monaka Jumbo is overwhelming sales.
The sales of it were more than double compare to other products.
When you come to Japan, why don’t you find your favorite ice cream brands?