Gone Before You Know It... The 30-Year History of Japan's Steady-Seller Mint "Mintia" [Sunday Culture]

Launched in 1996... A Steady Seller for 30 Years
Made by Blending Powders and Compressing
Innovations Like Mask-Specific Mint During COVID-19
Became Japan’s Beloved Candy by Keeping Up with Trends

"Oh, is this that Japanese mint?"

Mintia is a mint candy that you can often spot near the gum section at the checkout counters of Japanese convenience stores. It seems to be quite well-known in Korea as a mint candy people often buy when they visit Japan. There are three main types: the original "Mintia," which is thin and light like a card; "Mintia Breeze," which comes in a vertical case and contains slightly larger candies; and the larger "Mintia Mega." In fact, Mintia has been a steady seller in Japan for nearly 30 years. It is said that a great deal of effort went into creating this mint flavor. Today, let me tell you the story of Japan's Mintia.

The signature flavor of Mintia, 'Wild and Cool'. Asahi Foods.

Born in 1996... Made by Compressing and Hardening

When Mintia was first launched, it was around the time when mint candies like the Dutch brand "Frisk" were starting to enter the Japanese market. Since all the available brands were foreign, a food company called Pola Foods became the first Japanese company to develop a mint candy. They aimed to create a mint candy unique to Japan, capturing both the refreshing taste of mint and flavors that would appeal to Japanese consumers.

What is particularly interesting is the process of making these tablets. You might think all the ingredients are melted and then hardened, but actually, both the mint base and flavorings are mixed in powder form and then strongly compressed. For fruit flavors, freeze-dried fruit powder is used, and for artificial flavors like soda, small capsules containing the flavor are mixed in. If you look closely at a Mintia tablet, you can see small dots on the white base-these are the powdered flavorings that were mixed in before compression. All of this is pressed together firmly without applying heat to harden it.

Mintia was released in 1996 in a vertical case. Later, it changed to the current horizontal type. Around the time Mintia was released, loose socks and mini disc players were popular. Asahi Foods.

In this way, Pola Foods launched "Mintia Peppermint" and "Mintia Cassis and Mint" in 1996, focusing on Tokyo and the metropolitan area. At that time, the case was a vertical type, not the thin horizontal type we see today. The switch to the horizontal case happened in 2002, six years after its market debut. After its release, Mintia was mainly displayed in boxes on the lower shelves of stores, but when someone took one, the vertical Mintia cases would often topple forward in a row. This made it hard for customers to even see the product design, so they couldn't tell what the product was. As a result, brand recognition was low at first, and sales were sluggish. However, after switching to the horizontal case, Mintia became more visible and sales increased. It's quite a fascinating story, isn't it?

Searching the World for Mint... Thorough Testing

After Mintia's launch, Pola Foods was acquired by Asahi Foods in the early 2000s, and now the Asahi Group is in charge of the brand. They continue to create various blends and recipes, consistently releasing new flavors. Although many flavors are available on the market, the company puts the most effort into perfecting the basic mint flavor. There are many types of mint, such as spearmint and peppermint, and the taste and aroma can vary greatly depending on the manufacturer that processes them.

In addition, the taste changes depending on the place of origin, so developers sometimes travel to the largest mint farms in the United States to check the leaves in person. At one point, a mint farm that Asahi Foods used as a supplier stopped growing mint, so developers had to go to great lengths to find a similar-tasting mint from around the world. This shows just how much attention they pay to the mint itself.

Mintia Breeze series sold on the market. Asahi Foods.

Especially for Mintia, since it readily absorbs moisture, the flavor balance can easily change over time. To prevent the taste from changing, they adjust the blend and compression conditions, creating and testing dozens of prototypes. Only after passing sensory evaluations by professional testers can a product finally be released to the market.

Over 300 Varieties... Released to Match Trends

Currently, there are 10 types of Mintia, 12 types of Mintia Breeze, 1 type of Mintia Plus Voice (which contains ingredients good for the throat), and 2 types of Mintia Mega, totaling 25 varieties on sale. If you include limited editions and discontinued flavors, there have been over 320 varieties. Mintia is famous for responding quickly to trends, and there was even a product released in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mintia Breeze Plus Mask Lemon Lime Mint flavor, released during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is labeled as "For mask-wearing only" and is promoted to keep the mouth moist and add fragrance. Asahi Foods.

Here’s how it happened. Since the main purpose of eating mint candy is to freshen your breath after meals or before meetings, Mintia sales temporarily declined during the pandemic when people were wearing masks. Sales dropped to about 60% of the usual level. In response, Mintia developed a novel product called "Mintia Breeze Plus Mask." When you wear a mask all the time, even if others can't smell your breath, you still can, and your mouth can become dry. To address this, they added aroma capsules that provide moisture in the mouth and blended a mint that is refreshing but not so strong that it stings the eyes, making it comfortable to wear a mask. Thanks to this, sales rebounded in a V-shaped curve the following year.

Currently, Mintia continues to hold the top market share in Japan's mint candy market. Perhaps the secret to Mintia's success as a steady seller at Japanese convenience store counters is the combination of persistent research and the ability to read the trends of the times, all for a single small mint candy.