TOKYO -- Earth-shaped gummy treats known as "Planet Gummi" have recently created a buzz on social media in Japan, especially among young people, and have been selling out in succession across the country. In Japan, the candies are dubbed "chikyu gumi," or "earth gummies." After hearing about them for the first time this spring, a Mainichi Shimbun reporter explored the background to this mysterious product and what has driven its popularity.

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       This photo shows Trolli Planet Gummi, dubbed "chikyu gumi" in Japan, a product that has become a fad among young Japanese people. (Photo courtesy of Yutaka Trading Co.)

       On a weekend in May, I was shopping with my family at a mass retailer for young people in Tokyo when my two daughters, who are in the sixth and third grades of elementary school, asked me, "Aren't there any chikyu gumi in this store?" I had no idea what they were referring to. According to my daughters, it is a popular candy that all their elementary school friends know about.

       A quick search on the internet revealed the candies to be blue, round-shaped gummies, individually wrapped in clear plastic spheres bearing a continental pattern, making the treats look like miniature globes. The gummies are said to be filled with a bright red berry-flavored sauce that represents magma. Their price at stores is about 500 to 600 yen (roughly $4 to 5) for a 75-gram bag containing 4 pieces.

       However, stores and authorized online retailers were all out of stock. They were also being sold on Amazon, but at an exorbitant 2,800 yen (about $25) per bag including tax. It seems they were being resold for profit.

       The product's official name is "Trolli Planet Gummi." It is manufactured at a factory in Spain by the Trolli brand belonging to well-established German company Mederer, which was founded in 1948.

       According to Yokohama-based Yutaka Trading Co., a food wholesaler that handles imports into Japan, the candies were first imported into Japan in October 2020. To date, a total of 300,000 bags have been brought into the country. Many of the places that sell the gummies are stores that sell imported foods, such as Plaza, Don Quijote, Village Vanguard, Kaldi Coffee Farm and Loft.

       According to Plazastyle Co. of StylingLife Holdings Inc., the operator of Plaza stores, since the chain started selling the products last fall, "they have been selling out as soon as they arrive." All retailers remain out of stock, and Yutaka Trading said that they plan to restock around October.

       Why have the gummies become so popular? The fad seems to have started around 2018, when a South Korean YouTuber posted a "mukbang" video of themselves eating the candy. The bouncy gummies make a unique sound when chewed in the mouth, and many Youtubers have been spreading videos of themselves consuming the product.

       Such videos have also surfaced in Japan. Since last year, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people uploading Planet Gummi videos on YouTube and TikTok.

       I actually watched some of the videos. There are posts of young people enjoying the gummies in their own ways, with one video showing someone attempting to eat 100 of the products, and another with a title expressing how the candies are awesome. Many of these videos seem to be focused on eating sounds that are said to cause a tingling sensation called Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) when heard, or sharing experiences rather than evaluating the taste.

       A Plazastyle representative said that the store decided to sell Trolli Planet Gummi because "it was a hot topic on video sharing services and the nickname chikyu gumi was widely known on the internet." It seems that the company reacted swiftly to the boom, creating a hit.

       This photo shows Mayumi Morinaga, senior researcher at the Institute of Media Environment of Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Inc. (Photo courtesy of Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Inc.)

       There appears to have been no large-scale marketing initiative and the trend apparently spread before many people knew it. A characteristic is that the trend has gained traction among certain young people on social media.

       "If something becomes a hot topic even among a few people, it will emerge as a trend on social media. As a result, everyone thinks 'this is popular right now,' and before you know it, its popularity has grown bit by bit, like a layered Baumkuchen cake expanding," said Mayumi Morinaga, a senior researcher at the Institute of Media Environment of Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Inc.

       In the past, the influence of television was greater than it is today, and people recognized the same things as major trends, but recently, with the spread of smartphones, people's tastes are dispersed, and "major and minor things are becoming closer," according to Morinaga.

       "It used to be that a trend was something that most Japanese people knew about. Now, however, if only a few people say something is popular, it easily trends. The scale of each trend is definitely becoming smaller and smaller and trends are becoming more decentralized, so to speak," she continued.

       This photo shows Akira Amano, principal researcher at the Dentsu Media Innovation Lab. (Photo courtesy of Akira Amano)

       Akira Amano, principal researcher at Dentsu Media Innovation Lab, pointed out, "Young people's psychology of 'not wanting adults to know' may also be a factor."

       Because social media allow people to connect more deeply with their friends and specific communities, "there is a tendency for the gap between generations and the gap in their perceptions of trends to widen," said Amano.

       On the other hand, he said, "Anyone can see the internet and social media. In other words, there is not a complete divide between generations; a bridge does exist."

       There is a function on social media where artificial intelligence (AI) uses algorithms to recommend items and information matching people' preferences. "Even if you are not young, if you follow the trends on Twitter, the AI will recognize that you are someone who wants to follow the trends of young people and will give you lots of information about them," he continued.

       To borrow Amano's words, the key to understanding the latest trends is to "actively communicate with people of other generations."

       (Japanese original by Yusuke Matsukura, Digital News Department)

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