Fujiya

Fujiya is a Japanese confectionery and food-service company whose history reaches back to the opening of its first shop in Yokohama in 1910. The business developed around Western-style sweets, cakes, pastries, and confectionery at a time when these products were becoming increasingly familiar to Japanese consumers. Over time, Fujiya expanded from individual pastry shops into a nationwide network of confectionery stores and restaurants, supported by packaged products sold through broader retail channels. The company is associated with several enduring elements of Japanese consumer culture. It is widely credited with helping introduce and popularize the Christmas cake tradition in Japan, turning a Western seasonal custom into a recurring retail occasion. Fujiya also built strong recognition through its mascot, Peko-chan, a girl with pigtails who is depicted licking her lips. Life-sized Peko-chan figures placed outside shops became a distinctive part of Japanese streetscapes and helped connect the company’s stores, packaged products, and family-oriented positioning. Fujiya’s portfolio has included candies, chocolates, biscuits, cakes, pastries, and other dessert products. Among its best-known branded lines are Milky candy, a chewy milk confectionery, and Look chocolate, a filled chocolate assortment. The company has also offered Country Ma'am cookies and a range of cakes and baked goods through its stores and distribution partners. Its restaurants and cafés extend the brand beyond packaged confectionery, providing cakes, desserts, drinks, and family dining experiences. Fujiya faced a major quality and governance crisis in January 2007, when it was revealed that some products had been made using expired ingredients. The disclosure led to product withdrawals, substantial reputational damage, and the resignation of president Rintaro Fujii. The incident prompted intensified scrutiny of the company’s production controls and management practices. In the same period, Yamazaki Baking became Fujiya’s major corporate backer and subsequently took control, linking Fujiya to one of Japan’s largest bakery and food groups. The company has continued operating as an active Japanese confectionery and restaurant business under the Yamazaki Baking group. Its domestic identity remains especially strong, while the brand has also pursued selective overseas expansion. In 2016, Fujiya opened its first store outside Japan in Taipei, Taiwan. Its overall positioning combines accessible, family-oriented sweets with the heritage of a more than century-old Japanese retail brand. The business therefore spans both everyday packaged treats and occasion-based products such as birthday and Christmas cakes.

Fujiya began in 1910 when its first shop opened in Yokohama. The company entered a Japanese market in which Western-style cakes, pastries, and confectionery were still developing as mainstream consumer categories. By operating dedicated sweets shops and emphasizing prepared cakes and desserts, Fujiya helped make these products more accessible to ordinary households. A major part of Fujiya’s historical significance is its role in the development of Christmas cake in Japan. The company is credited with introducing the custom to Japanese consumers and transforming it into a commercially important seasonal tradition. Christmas cakes became associated with family celebrations, gift-giving, and special meals, creating a recurring sales occasion for Fujiya’s retail network. As the business expanded, Fujiya built a nationwide chain of confectionery shops and restaurants. The company’s activities broadened from freshly made cakes and pastries to packaged candy, chocolate, cookies, and other sweets distributed through retail channels. This combination of stores, food-service locations, and packaged products allowed Fujiya to serve both occasion-based demand and everyday snacking. The Peko-chan mascot became central to the company’s identity. Designed as a girl with pigtails licking her lips, Peko-chan gave Fujiya an immediately recognizable visual symbol. Large figures outside Fujiya stores became familiar landmarks in Japan and reinforced the brand’s association with children, families, desserts, and cheerful retail experiences. The mascot also helped connect the company’s physical stores with its packaged products and promotional activity. Fujiya’s modern portfolio has included the Milky candy line, Look chocolate, Country Ma'am cookies, cakes, pastries, and restaurant desserts. Milky is particularly associated with a milk-based chewy candy format, while Look is known for chocolate products containing varied fillings or flavor combinations. Cakes and pastries remain important to the store network, especially for birthdays, Christmas, and other celebrations. In January 2007, Fujiya entered a severe corporate crisis after the company’s use of expired ingredients in products became public. The revelation led to withdrawals and intensified criticism of its manufacturing and quality-control systems. President Rintaro Fujii resigned as a consequence of the scandal. The episode damaged the company’s reputation and led to greater scrutiny of its governance and operational controls. Yamazaki Baking subsequently became Fujiya’s major corporate supporter and parent-company connection, bringing the confectionery company into the Yamazaki Baking group. This relationship provided the basis for continued operation while Fujiya retained its own brand identity, products, shops, restaurants, and mascot. Fujiya later pursued limited international expansion, opening its first store outside Japan in Taipei in 2016. The company remains an active Japanese confectionery and dessert business with a strong domestic heritage and a broad family-oriented brand presence.

• 2016

  First overseas store opens in Taipei

  [1]Fujiyaen.wikipedia.org

  Fujiya opened its first store outside Japan in Taipei, Taiwan.

• 2007

  Expired-ingredient scandal

  [1]Fujiyaen.wikipedia.org

  The company’s use of expired ingredients became public, causing product withdrawals, reputational damage, and the resignation of president Rintaro Fujii.

• 1910

  First Fujiya shop opens in Yokohama

  [1]Fujiyaen.wikipedia.org

  Fujiya traces its operating history to the opening of its first confectionery shop in Yokohama.

Mass-market, family-oriented Japanese confectionery and dessert retail with strong heritage, seasonal relevance, and character-led brand recognition.

• Candy

  Milky

  Milky is one of Fujiya’s signature confectionery lines. It is associated with a chewy milk-candy format and a sweet, creamy flavor profile. The product is strongly linked with Fujiya’s family-oriented identity and is distributed as a packaged everyday treat rather than only through the company’s pastry shops.

• Chocolate

  Look

  Look is a Fujiya chocolate brand known for filled chocolate pieces and varied flavor combinations. The line extends Fujiya’s presence into mass-market packaged chocolate, complementing the company’s cakes, candies, and store-based desserts.

• Cookies and biscuits

  Country Ma'am

  Country Ma'am is a Fujiya cookie line sold as packaged baked confectionery. It represents the company’s expansion beyond traditional cakes and candies into widely distributed cookies suitable for household snacking.

• Cakes and bakery · 1910

  Fujiya cakes and pastries

  Fresh cakes, pastries, and celebratory desserts are central to Fujiya’s confectionery-store business. Offerings have included products for birthdays, Christmas, and other occasions, helping the brand maintain a direct retail relationship with consumers.

• Food service

  Fujiya restaurants and cafés

  Fujiya restaurants and cafés extend the brand into prepared desserts, beverages, cakes, and family dining. These locations complement the company’s packaged products and confectionery shops by offering an on-premises consumption experience.

• 2007

  Expired-ingredient scandal

  Fujiya was criticized after it became known that expired ingredients had been used in some products. The disclosure led to product withdrawals, a major reputational crisis, and the resignation of president Rintaro Fujii.

  Source

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• 2016

  Initial overseas retail expansionStrategy

  Background

  Fujiya had historically been identified primarily with its Japanese store and restaurant network.

  Action taken

  The company opened its first store outside Japan in Taipei, Taiwan.

  Aftermath

  The opening marked a limited international step for a brand whose core retail presence remained in Japan.

  Source

• 2007

  Strengthening of Yamazaki Baking controlStrategy

  Background

  Following the expired-ingredient scandal, Fujiya faced a severe loss of consumer confidence and increased scrutiny of its management and quality systems.

  Action taken

  Yamazaki Baking became Fujiya’s major corporate backer and parent-company connection, integrating the confectionery company into the Yamazaki Baking group while preserving the Fujiya brand.

  Aftermath

  The relationship supported Fujiya’s continued operation and provided a larger corporate framework for governance, production, and distribution.

  Source

• Unconfirmed

  Reported2021.09.08

  KFC and Fujiya launch co-branded oat latte in mainland China[3]肯德基与不二家推出联名燕麦拿铁supertaste.tvbs.com.tw

  KFC and Fujiya launched a co-branded oat latte, which the article says was being sold only at KFC in mainland China.

Read more

1. 1Fujiyaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Fujiya official websitefujiya-peko.co.jp
3. 3肯德基与不二家推出联名燕麦拿铁supertaste.tvbs.com.tw