We talked to several movers and shakers from the food tech and start-up world in Japan last month — and you can watch all of the interviews on the GourmetPro YouTube channel.

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Industry analysts globally have been calling out texture as the next big trend in F&B (and more broadly, multisensory experiences), and Japan is probably just thinking, “well, duh”. So I thought we’d focus on how texture drives innovation in Japan, especially in the confectionery category, and what the rest of the world can take away from their strategies. 

In the first half of 2025, gummy candy sales in Japan (JPY66.5 billion/US$0.43 billion) overtook hard candy (JPY66.1 billion) for the first time ever. There are expectations that this shift will also be seen in annual sales. Japan’s gummy market has almost doubled since 2017 and now outsells both chewing gum (spitting things out is frowned upon) and lozenges (seasonal).

Gummies are doing phenomenally well globally too. Gummies and chewy candy now account for half of all non-chocolate confectionery sales in the US. And they’re having a moment in Europe as well. But innovation in these markets is often driven by single textures or wild flavors.

Japan’s gummy game is way beyond any of that – and texture is a key element of success. Walk into any convenience store in the country and you will see rows and rows of gummies: hard gummies, soft gummies, chocolate-covered gummies, gummy-covered chocolate, peelable gummies, gummies with freeze-dried fruit – it is nothing short of a textural Willy Wonka-esque wonderland. 

Some time ago, I reached out to GourmetPro expert Marc Matsumoto, a Japan-based F&B consultant and culinary creator, to ask about confectionery trends in the country. We ended up talking a lot about how important texture is in Japanese cuisine and how that is playing out in product development in the category. 

But first, let’s take a look at how deep Japan’s relationship with texture is.

If you want to understand how seriously Japan takes texture, meet Garigari-kun. 

This beloved popsicle, launched in 1981, is named after the sound of crunching ice. Gari-gari literally translates to “crunch-crunch,” describing its bite. “It’s a bit like shaved ice, but more granular and crunchy,” said Marc. “The classic flavor is soda, and every summer they release limited-edition versions, like spaghetti, corn soup, even frozen ketchup. But the name alone tells you exactly what you’re going to feel when you eat it.”

That’s not unusual in Japan. Texture has its own language here, an entire lexicon of onomatopoeic expressions that describe the sounds and sensations of eating. According to one study, Japanese has more than 400 texture-related words, compared to around 100 in English and 227 in French. And these words are really precise. 

Mochi-mochi captures the soft elasticity of pounded rice cakes; fuwa-fuwa suggests light, airy fluff; saku-saku and zaku-zaku both mean crisp, but one is delicate, the other hearty. “In English, you might just say something’s crunchy,” Marc says. “In Japanese, there are 10 different ways to say it. And when you hear them, you know exactly what it feels like.”

Scientific work on these words shows that they capture not only the sound of mastication (saku-saku, gari-gari), but also the physical sensation of what’s felt by the teeth and tongue as food breaks down. This broader concept of shokkan, or mouthfeel, sits alongside taste and aroma as a key measure of quality. Related notions like hazawari (texture felt by the teeth) and nodo goshi (the sensation of food or drink passing down the throat) expand texture beyond the tongue to include temperature, fizz, and bite.

This language also drives design. Packaging, ads, and even shelf labels routinely name the intended feel, effectively turning texture into a promise the product must keep. Marc says Japanese shoppers “know the bite they’re buying”, whether it’s a chewy gummy or noodles with the ideal koshi (that perfect springiness).

Importantly, it even drives innovation. Marc pointed to the rise of hybrids like mogyu-fuwa – a mix of mogyu (stretchy, chewy) and fuwa (fluffy) – now a real product made by aerating gummies to achieve that exact mouthfeel. 

The same precision extends into science: confectionery giant Meiji built a “chew simulator” called ORAL-MAPS to measure elasticity and resistance, mapping how different textures affect satisfaction and mood. Using ORAL-MAPS, the company even created a 6-level “chewing strength chart” that categorizes the strength required to chew gummies. 

The same linguistic precision that makes consumers hyper-aware of mouthfeel also fuels a business model built on constant renewal. Texture innovation sits at the intersection of curiosity, convenience, and climate, all uniquely Japanese forces that keep the country’s confectionery market in perpetual motion. But these aspects (in different combinations) are also wildly relevant today in most parts of the world.

Japanese consumers are famously loyal but also restless. They crave novelty, but not shock. Texture provides something new that still feels familiar. “People here want new products all the time,” Marc told me, “but not so different that they feel strange. Texture gives you that middle ground. You can make a chewy version, a crispy version, or a baked version – it’s new, but still based on a familiar product.”

That craving for safe experimentation sustains an incredible pace of innovation. Marc says he sometimes finds 200 or more new products a week in convenience stores, many of them limited runs or with small textural tweaks. For brands, it’s a manageable way to refresh categories without risking alienation and it’s a low-stakes cycle of iteration that keeps consumers engaged.

This system thrives thanks to Japan’s vast konbini network, the convenience stores that double up as real-time R&D labs. Each chain, from 7-Eleven to FamilyMart, collaborates with dedicated suppliers and OEMs to produce a constant stream of micro-batch, short-life products. Deliveries arrive multiple times a day; some items stay on shelves for less than a week.

“The entire supply chain here is geared for rapid turnover,” Marc explained. “Everyone from flavor houses to packaging suppliers moves at that pace.” Sales data provides instant feedback: a hit can be scaled across the country within days, while a flop quietly disappears. The result is a feedback loop of constant learning, where the consumer is both the tester and the target.

Japan’s extreme seasonality adds another layer of pressure (and opportunity). Before air conditioning was widespread, the country’s humid summers would be a death knell for chocolate. Instead of fighting it, brands redesigned texture. “They have crunchy chocolate, like baked chocolate. It’s basically a cookie that’s mostly chocolate, but it won’t melt,” explained Marc.

That adaptation turned into a creative framework. Confectioners now swap textures by season – chewy or crispy chocolates in summer, soft ganache and truffle textures in winter. The result is year-round engagement and built-in novelty, fighting back against the seasonal liability for the category. Some brands even blend categories entirely, like chocolate gummies, chocolate-coated gummies, and dual-texture bites that combine crisp, chew, and melt in one piece.

Japanese confectionery makers are also playing with temperature. They’ve been using cooling and warming sensations for years as part of how products feel.

“You’ll see candies dusted with xylitol, what is called ‘wood sugar’ here” Marc said. “It absorbs heat when it dissolves, so it gives you this cooling effect in your mouth. It’s not minty, just cold. They use it on vanilla or soda-flavored candies so it actually feels like ice cream, even at room temperature.”

That technique has been common in gums and mints, but it’s now moving into gummies and chocolates. Brands are using polyols like xylitol and erythritol to create “ice gummies” that produce a chilled bite. Others experiment with aeration, trapping air in gummies or chocolates so they melt faster, recreating the experience of chilled desserts.

The approach follows Japan’s seasonal logic. “People expect the feel of the season in what they eat,” Marc says.

Tate & Lyle’s Mouthfeel Report 2025 highlights temperature as part of the broader Climate Proof Food and Convenience & Shelf Proof trends, where managing heat, melt, and freshness is becoming a critical part of product design. Japan provides some of the most visible, everyday examples of that thinking in action.

Japan’s mastery of texture isn’t a playbook the rest of the world can copy. Most markets don’t have Japan’s supply-chain speed or konbini testing labs, but they do have something else: a fast-growing demand for food that satisfies both the senses and the self.

All of this matters far beyond Japan, because texture is now colliding with big shifts in how people eat and feel. That’s opening new space for texture-driven innovation everywhere.

For instance, appetite-suppressing GLP-1 drugs are reshaping eating habits. People are eating less, more slowly, and with more intention, but they still want pleasure. Confectioners are responding with smaller portions, protein or fiber boosts, and chewier, crunchier formats that deliver a high-satisfaction “bite” in fewer calories. Texture has the potential to become a tool for satiety as much as indulgence.

There’s also growing recognition that texture can play a role in sensory regulation. For some neurodiverse individuals, specific textures can bring comfort or focus. It’s still an under-researched area, but it points to how “mouthfeel” can cross from sensory design into emotional design.

All this suggests a new phase for global confectionery, where texture moves beyond novelty to function. For global brands, that means treating texture not as a topping, but as a core design principle – a lever for satiety, comfort, and emotional payoff.

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