HI-CHEW™ Wins Award for Soaring Sales

HI-CHEW™ Wins Award for Soaring Sales

Posted on December 7, 2015

  • HI-CHEW™ Earns Honors from Top Distributor Harold Levinson Associates.
  • Morinaga America, Inc. Named “Confectionery Vendor of the Year 2015.”
  • HI-CHEW™ Sales Continue to Rise Faster than Major Competitors.

Irvine, California – Dec. 7th, 2015 – Japan’s best-selling chewy candy has won an American award for fast-growing sales.  At its annual trade show, major convenience store distributor Harold Levinson Associates (HLA) honored HI-CHEW™ and Irvine-based sales company Morinaga America, Inc. as “Confectionery Vendor of the Year 2015.”

“We are pleased to be recognized for the proven sales performance of HI-CHEW™ in recent years,” said Terry Kawabe, Director COO, Senior VP of Morinaga America.  “When consumers have a chance to sample HI-CHEW™ , they get hooked.  That’s why we’re #1 in Japan, and HLA has helped us get on the same path to success in the U.S.”

About HLA:

Since 1977, Harold Levinson Associates (HLA) has grown from the trunk of a car into one of the nation’s largest full line convenience store distributors.  Based in Farmingdale, NY, HLA has 420 employees in a 600,000-sq. ft. facility stocking over 18,000 products.

About Morinaga & HI-CHEW™:

The history of HI-CHEW™ stretches back over a century, when company founder Taichiro Morinaga brought candy-making skills to Japan from America in the 1800s. HI-CHEW™ has long been the #1 soft candy in Japan, and in recent years, has also become a hit in the rest of Asia and America, especially among the young. In the U.S., original HI-CHEW™ is offered in Strawberry, Green Apple, Mango, Grape, Cherry, Banana, Melon, and Kiwi. The HI-CHEW™ Sours come in Lemon, Lime and Grapefruit. HI-CHEW™ Bites are offered in Grape, Strawberry, Mango, and Orange and are made with real fruit juice blended into the chewy candy, which is 100% free cholesterol or artificial colors.

Morinaga America, Inc. (sales company) and Morinaga America Foods, Inc. (candy production) are wholly owned subsidiaries of Morinaga & Co., Ltd., which began in 1899 as the first maker of chocolates in Japan.

Contact:

Mike Cline
media@morinaga-america.com
Direct phone: 951-217-6464
Morinaga America, Inc.
18552 MacArthur Blvd., 360, Irvine, CA 92612

 Pictured from left: Takuma Oka of Morinaga America, Greg McNally of Harold Levinson Associates, Teruhiro “Terry” Kawabe of MA, and Joe Lanzilli of Golick Martins.