Ezaki Glico

Ezaki Glico Co., Ltd. started in a small way back in 1922 when Riichi Ezaki, a candy maker in Osaka, had a eureka moment. He noticed that children in a fishing village who ate oysters seemed unusually healthy, and he traced that vitality to glycogen. So he cooked up a caramel candy infused with glycogen and called it Glico, a shortening of the word glycogen. The very first wrapper featured a runner and the slogan "300 Meters in a Single Piece," promising energy from a single candy. That running figure is still the company's logo today, arms raised as he crosses a finish line.

Over the decades, Glico grew from a single caramel into a sprawling food empire. Bisco, a biscuit sandwich with a cream filling, launched in 1933 and remains a staple in Japanese households. Pocky came along in 1966, thin cookie sticks dipped in chocolate, and Pretz followed as a savory cousin in 1963. Internationally, Pocky became the company's breakout star, finding its way into Walmart and Target in the United States. Glico also makes ice cream, pudding cups like Putching, curry roux, frozen meals, and even baby food under the cotote brand launched in 2025 for toddlers aged 1 to 3.

The company went public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (code 2206) and now operates factories in Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore. The Ezaki family still holds the top jobs: Katsuhisa Ezaki is Chairman, and Etsuro Ezaki is President and CEO. In 2022, Glico celebrated its 100th anniversary, and the Glico Museum in Osaka displays roughly 4,000 toys that were once included with caramels, a tradition that started in 1927. Annual revenue sits around ¥338 billion, or about $3 billion, making Glico one of Japan's biggest confectionery companies alongside Meiji and Lotte. [edit]