Native name | 江崎グリコ株式会社 |
---|---|
Romanized name | Ezaki Guriko Kabushiki-gaisha |
Company type | Public |
TYO: 2206 | |
Industry | Food manufacturing |
Founded | Nishi-ku, Osaka, Japan (11 February 1922 )[1][2] |
Founder | Riichi Ezaki (江崎 利一, Ezaki Riichi) |
Headquarters | , Japan |
Key people | Katsuhisa Ezaki(businessman)[3] (chairman) Etsuro Ezaki (President and CEO) |
Products | Confectioneries, ice cream products, processed food |
Revenue | ¥338,437 million US$3,003,531 thousand (112.68 yen/US dollar, March 2016)[4] |
¥17,110 million US$151,850 thousand (112.68 yen/US dollar, March 2016)[4] | |
¥14,364 million US$127,478 thousand (112.68 yen/US dollar, March 2016)[4] | |
Total assets | ¥274,974 million US$2,440,311 thousand (112.68 yen/US dollar, March 2016)[5] |
Total equity | ¥179,151 million US$1,589,917 thousand (112.68 yen/US dollar, March 2016)[6] |
Number of employees | 4,961 (consolidated, March 2016)[7] |
Parent | Mondelez International |
Subsidiaries | Glico Nutrition Co., Ltd. Icreo Co., Ltd. and others[8] |
Website | glico |
Ezaki Glico Co., Ltd. (江崎グリコ株式会社, Ezaki Guriko Kabushiki-gaisha), commonly known as Glico, is a Japanese multinational food processing company headquartered in Nishiyodogawa-ku, Osaka.[8] It does business across 30 countries, in North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe.[9]
Ezaki Glico's primary business is manufacturing confectionery products such as chocolate, chips, chewing gums and ice cream, and dairy products. Additionally, Glico manufactures processed foods, such as curry stocks and retort takikomi gohan pouches, and dietary supplement products.[10][11] Glico's main competitors are Meiji Seika, Lotte, Morinaga, Fujiya and Bourbon Company [ja] in the confectionery business and House Foods, Meiji and S&B Foods in the processed food business.
Ezaki Glico is a member of Midori Kai, a group of companies whose main financier was Sanwa Bank (later merged into the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ).[12]
In 1919, Riichi Ezaki created a caramel candy product containing glycogen extracted from oysters. The caramel candy product was named "Cuchieco".[13] The sales copy for this product was "300 Meters in a Single Piece," and a running man was painted on the package.[14][15] On February 11, 1922, Riichi started selling Glico products at the Mitsukoshi Osaka branch.
Later, in 1922, Riichi established a company, Ezaki Glico Co., Ltd. Glico is the shortened word for glycogen.[16] Its Osaka and Tokyo factories were destroyed during World War II, and they were reopened in 1951. Popular products like Pretz and Pocky were introduced in 1963 and 1966, respectively.
In 1984, the Glico Morinaga case, a series of criminal incidents targeting Japanese major food manufacturers, occurred. Ezaki Glico and other victims were targeted by a group known as "The Monster with 21 Faces." The group claimed that $21 million ($2.26 billion yen) worth of sweets was laced with potassium cyanide soda, while Katsuhisa Ezaki(jp), president and CEO, was kidnapped but escaped by himself. Ezaki Glico was blackmailed and its office was burned by the criminals.
Ezaki Glico manufactures a wide variety of products. Major products are listed here. [10][17]
Ezaki Glico's large LED sign located above Dōtonbori in Osaka has been a landmark of the city since its initial construction in 1935. It bears the Glico running man on a blue race track, as well as some of Osaka's other landmarks in the background.[20] The giant neon sign has been revised on several occasions in order to celebrate events such as the World Cup and to bolster team spirit for Osaka's baseball team, the Hanshin Tigers.[21] As the sign is quite well known, it has long been a popular photo stop for tourists as well as locals.
Ezaki Glico was also the main sponsor of the anime series Tetsujin 28 (1963–1966, the original Japanese version of Gigantor).[22]