Haitai Confectionery announced on the 10th that it’s adding its first fruit flavor — Melon — to the Pocky Ultra-Thin lineup.
The original Pocky range already includes fruit, nut, and cheese flavors, but this is the first time across Korea and Japan that an ultra-thin stick swaps chocolate for fruit. Ultra-thin sticks are about 40% thinner than the originals and are more delicate, which made replacing viscous chocolate a real technical hurdle.
Haitai tackled that challenge through localized technical development and has succeeded in creating a fruit-flavored ultra-thin product. The company says it will expand the Pocky Ultra-Thin lineup — previously chocolate-focused — starting with melon.
The first fruit ultra-thin stick features melons from Naju in Jeollanam-do, South Korea’s largest melon-growing region, giving the snack a pronounced sweet taste and aroma. Instead of artificial coloring, the company used matcha to bring out the melon’s subtle pale green hue, so it looks as tempting as it tastes. To date, only Korea and Japan (which offers a Yubari melon flavor) sell melon-flavored stick snacks, making this flavor especially rare.
The key is the “ultra-thin” stick. Korea’s only 3 mm (0.12 in) ultra-thin stick gets a generous coating of melon cream to deliver a sweet, crispy bite. Because the stick is thinner, the cream covers more than 30% more of the surface than the original, so each bite feels richer and creamier.
For the first time among Pocky products, Haitai will place this flavor in Olive Young stores, starting at the Myeong-dong location popular with tourists and gradually expanding. Since Melon Ultra-Thin will be sold only in Korea, it’s likely to become a coveted K-snack souvenir.
A Haitai Confectionery representative said, “We completed this product after rigorous testing to best showcase the flavor of Naju melons. We believe it will establish itself as a premium stick snack that pairs the ultra-thin crunch with a bold, refreshing melon taste.”
