2012-09-04

Meiji's Milk Chocolate History

Meiji Milk Chocolate is celebrating 85 years and in conjunction with this there is a flash based overview of the history of this product centered on the packaging changes over the years.
Highlights:
- Introduced Sept. 13, 1926, when there was a lot of excitement about new things from the West.
- Meiji milk chocolate was the first to introduce a points on the packages which could later be traded for free product. This is described as added fun to the delicious experience.
- During the war and reconstruction years, products like chocolate disappeared thus there was a 10 year gap in sales 1942-1951. The bright red packaging is described as making the product stand out on the relatively drab shelves for its reintroduction, but as can be seen, the same red packaging was used before the hiatus.
- the 1953 brought television and Meiji was one of the first to create a recognizable melody to associate with the product.
- Valentine's Day was introduced to Japan in 1970. (Japanese-style Valentine's Day and White Day are topics for another day)
- in 2009 the new Meiji trademark was added to the package (following a merger between the two Meiji companies).

http://www.meiji.co.jp/sweets/chocolate/mchoco/history/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

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