OSAKA -- Japan's yogurt-tasting treats in mini cups you can lick clean in a few scoops have been adored for 60 years. This Mainichi Shimbun reporter has enjoyed the sweet and sour taste while eating the yogurt-like content with a small wooden spoon. But now, as an adult, a question suddenly came to me. What exactly is this creamy substance? I visited "Morocco Fruit Yogul" sweets manufacturer Sanyo Confectionery Co. in this west Japan city to find out.

       The initial packaging for Morocco Fruit Yogul snacks from when they were first sold is seen in this image provided by Sanyo Confectionery.

       Morocco Fruit Yogul first went on sale in 1961, and developed by the grandfather of current Sanyo Confectionery President Mitsutaka Ikeda, 50. At the time, the leading products were chocolate snacks like whiskey bonbon. But in summertime they couldn't be shipped because they melted. As a refreshing alternative suitable for the summer, yogurt-like cream sweets were created. They come in what look like yogurt containers, and a wooden spoon is attached. The product's name came partly from reference searches that found yogurt had been eaten since long ago in Morocco, but also because it was euphonious.

       The yogurt containers' boxes and lids feature elephant illustrations. President Ikeda said the elephant design channels his grandfather's wish for children to grow up to be strong, kind and robust like an elephant.

       Sanyo Confectionery President Mitsutaka Ikeda is seen in the city of Osaka's Nishinari Ward on Oct. 26, 2021. (Mainichi/Satoko Suizu)

       Initially, sales were not good. Wholesalers they pitched it to wouldn't even accept samples. After persistent attempts, one company finally accepted it, and orders increased from there. Although Sanyo Confectionary initially only sold the yogurt sweets in summer, it eventually stopped making whiskey bonbons to focus on manufacturing Morocco Fruit Yogul as their sole product. Currently, it produces 60,000 to 70,000 of the treats a day.

       Finally, we reached the main topic: What exactly is this cream? "Put simply, it's something like buttercream made from vegetable fats," Ikeda replied. I thought it was surprisingly normal after all. The "yogul" is made by mixing commonplace ingredients like sugar, glucose, and acidifying agents in vegetable fats, and whipping it into the yogurt-like substance. The taste is unchanged from the original when it was first sold. Although the lids come in five colors, they are the same flavor.

       When I told Ikeda I like the flaky texture that remains in the aftertaste, he told me he "didn't know about it until a customer told me." As it turns out, the yogurt treat is actually fluffy immediately after it has been made. But as time passes, the sugar content crystallizes and develops a flaky texture. Ikeda hadn't been aware of this because he only ever eats the product right after it's been made.

       Another compelling aspect is the small wooden spoons that come with the cups. As a child, I felt they were part of the treat's taste.

       A Morocco Fruit Yogul snack and attached wooden spoon are seen in the city of Osaka's Kita Ward on Nov. 8, 2021. (Mainichi/Satoshi Hishida)

       When I told Ikeda that it feels like the tastiness multiplies when eaten with the wooden spoon, he revealed they are made of white birch trees from Hokkaido. Given each snack is only about 20 yen (around 20 cents), I asked about the costs for securing domestic wood. Apparently, the company uses wood from forest thinning as part of efforts to make some contribution to Japan's declining forestry industry. By ordering the material in bulk, the company is able to clear hurdles cost wise.

       The company also has a product to fulfill the needs of those craving a bit more. Since 1996, Sanyo Confectionery has been selling jumbo-size yoguls equivalent to over 11 regular-size mini cups. The product came out of ardent and persistent approaches from a client, who would apparently typically buy 10 regular-size ones to spread on toast. Despite initial doubts about profitability, the jumbo-size yoguls are now regularly sold products, and there are recipes online on how they can be used with bread, ice cream and yogurt.

       Although Sanyo Confectionery was founded in 1959, the family was manufacturing sweets even before then. "I've heard that even after World War II, ingredients were gathered by buying them on the black market, out of a wish to somehow deliver sweets to children," Ikeda said. The business continued making children's snacks, even as the founding family was barely making ends meet.

       Morocco Fruit Yogul snacks, whose packaging come in five colors, are seen in the city of Osaka's Kita Ward on Nov. 8, 2021. (Mainichi/Satoshi Hishida)

       These values have been passed down to the present day. Dagashi candy shops selling cheap candies and other sweets for young children, which are Sanyo Confectionery's main customers, are in continuous decline. Morocco Fruit Yogul snacks are rarely stocked by major retailers due to their distinctive spoons and their "lucky" products that if you win you'll get an extra one. Once, there were rumors production had been terminated.

       In spite of this, President Ikeda seemed happy as he spoke about the children who buy their products at candy shops. "The kids choose snacks, calculate, and pay for them by themselves. I'd like our products to continue being one item that's part of such an enjoyable time."

       (Japanese original by Satoko Suizu, Osaka Editorial Production Center)

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