• by Sarah Mahoney , Yesterday

With boundary-pushing flavors and streetwear-ready partnerships, the 50-year-old brand wants to reinvent U.S. candy culture.

At a moment when many candy brands focus on nostalgia, Hi-Chew is chasing a different approach: Young people’s growing appetite for novelty, global flavor, and niche cultural flexes. The Japanese chewy candy, long a cult favorite among older millennials, is quietly staging a surprising youth takeover in the candy aisle.

Joanne Hsu, brand lead and senior brand marketing manager for Morinaga America, tells Marketing Daily the shift has been deliberate, shaped by plenty of flavor research and an unexpected learning detour in Salt Lake City.

The brand initially did well on the East and West Coast. But then sales started to pop in Utah, when young Mormons who had traveled to Japan on mission trips started returning to the states with bags of candy, which they gifted to friends.

“From the get-go,” she says, “that started shaping the way we introduced the brand to new customers, shifting our target demos to the younger generation—specifically Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who are the next power buyers in this category.” 

That pivot shows up most clearly in Hi-Chew’s escalating flavor strategy. The brand currently sells more than 50 flavors in the U.S. and more than 200 worldwide. Its turning point came with the launch of Fantasy Mix—the brand’s first “unconventional” trio— which became such a runaway hit that Morinaga shipped the U.S.-created product back to Japan. Since then, the company has leaned hard into novelty: Dessert Mix, Mystery Mix, and this year’s globally inspired Getaway Mix.

That collection got introduced at the Miami Airport, one of the busiest for spring break travel, and included a hot-air balloon photo opp and the handing out of 48,000 samples. “Unconventional flavor is becoming a very strategic approach for our flavor innovations,” Hsu says. And Gen Z, she adds, is wired for boldness: “They are flavor-adventure seekers. They embrace global flavors and look for unique snacking experiences. They also love collaborations.”

Those collaborations are increasingly where Hi-Chew pursues pop-culture connections. The brand is now a regular presence in Fortnite, where fans compete inside candy-colored mini-games and creators design their own Hi-Chew maps. It also staged a 50th-anniversary merch drop exclusively on TikTok Shop, following the platform’s surge in Gen Z purchasing.

This year also included a high-profile streetwear moment. Hi-Chew’s Strawberry collaboration with Lonely Ghost—a Gen Z–beloved brand built around emotional messaging—sold out almost instantly.

The partnership wasn’t random. “We want to show up relevant to our core demo,” Hsu says. “We look for brand partners who share a like-minded consumer base, and we want Gen Z to feel cool, fun, and innovative.”

The throughline in all of this is motion. Hi-Chew wants to be a cultural signal. And in a category built on sameness, the brand is betting that bold flavors and bolder collaborations will keep young snackers chewing.