Who owns HI-CHEW?
HI-CHEW is owned by Morinaga (Japan, TSE: 2201).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Morinaga & Co., Ltd. Corporate Profile 2026. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Morinaga & Co., Ltd. reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇯🇵 Japan, Tokyo
- Origin
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- Founded
- 1975
- Category
- Food › Confectionery › Candy & sugar confectionery
- Parent ticker
- TSE: 2201
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About HI-CHEW
HI-CHEW is a soft chewy candy Morinaga launched in 1975, developed by crossing its milk caramel technology with new technology. Production and sales began in China in 2004, Morinaga America Foods began making it in North Carolina in 2015, and it is now sold in more than 30 countries. Morinaga changed the brand logo to English as part of its push to make HI-CHEW a global brand.
Ownership timeline of HI-CHEW
Where HI-CHEW sits in Morinaga
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Morinaga ownership tree →
See the full Morinaga brand portfolio (10) →
Other brands owned by Morinaga
Morinaga controls 10 brands on Brandtree, 9 of them in food.
Also in food
- Choco Monaka Jumbo
- Chocoball (1967)
- DARS (1993)
- ICEBOX (1989)
- in Jelly (1994)
- Morinaga Biscuits
- Morinaga Milk Caramel (1913)
- My/Mochi
Other brands in candy & sugar confectionery, and who owns them
The 87 brands in candy & sugar confectionery on Brandtree belong to 39 owners. The largest is Cloetta, with 6; Morinaga has 2.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Ahlgrens bilar | Cloetta | 🇸🇪 Sweden |
| Bottle Caps | Ferrero | 🇮🇹 Italy |
| Charleston Chew | Tootsie Roll | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Bon Bon Bum | Colombina | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
| Candy Kittens | Katjes International | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Airheads | Perfetti Van Melle | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
| Goldbears | Haribo | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Háls | Nói Síríus | 🇮🇸 Iceland |
About the owner: Morinaga
Morinaga is a publicly listed company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, founded in 1899. Brandtree records 10 brands under its control, and it is listed as TSE: 2201.
Morinaga & Co. is a Japanese confectionery and food maker. Its founder Taichiro Morinaga returned from the United States and opened Morinaga's Western Confectionery Shop on 15 August 1899; the business was incorporated in 1910 and took its present name in 1912. Headquartered in Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo, it makes HI-CHEW, chocolate, biscuits, cocoa, frozen desserts and in Jelly drinks, reported consolidated net sales of ¥236.6 billion for the year to March 2026, and aims to become a wellness company by 2030. It bought the US mochi ice cream maker My/Mochi in 2026.
🇯🇵 HI-CHEW and other Japanese brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 456 brands that began in Japan. 23 of them (5%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; HI-CHEW is not one of them.
- Ajinomoto — Ajinomoto 🇯🇵
- Almond Koka — Glico 🇯🇵
- Amuleia — Nisshin Seifun 🇯🇵
- Aohata — Kewpie 🇯🇵
- C1000 — House Foods 🇯🇵
- Calbee Potato Chips — Calbee 🇯🇵
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of HI-CHEW?
The parent company of HI-CHEW is Morinaga, a publicly listed company headquartered in Japan.
Is HI-CHEW Japanese?
Yes. HI-CHEW originated in Japan in 1975 and its owner, Morinaga, is also headquartered in Japan.
Is HI-CHEW still owned by Morinaga?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, HI-CHEW is still owned by Morinaga. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Morinaga & Co., Ltd. Corporate Profile 2026 — Morinaga & Co., Ltd., Annual report; retrieved 16 September 2026.
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