Morinaga America is pushing its Hi-Chew brand into the holiday candy set for the first time with a limited-edition Holiday Mix, a three-flavor assortment in seasonal packaging hitting convenience, mass, and specialty retail shelves now.

The SKU arrives in two formats: a 5.6 oz stand-up pouch carrying all three flavors — Apple Crumble, Sugar Plum, and Cherry Vanilla — and a 1.8 oz peg bag with Apple Crumble and Sugar Plum. Cherry Vanilla is exclusive to the larger pouch. Retail doors confirmed at launch include Hy-Vee, Dollar General, and IT'SUGAR, with the 5.6 oz pouch also available direct-to-consumer via hi-chew.com for the duration of the season.

The Flavor Build

All three varieties are new to the Hi-Chew lineup. Apple Crumble pairs sweet apple with buttery vanilla notes; Sugar Plum leans on ripe plum with an overtly sweet finish; and Cherry Vanilla blends tangy cherry with a smooth vanilla background. Each piece is individually wrapped — a detail that matters for the impulse and gifting occasions Hi-Chew is explicitly targeting, including stocking stuffers, candy bowls, and office parties.

The packaging features a built-in "To/From" gift tag, positioning the bag as a ready-to-gift item without added materials. For c-store operators, that gifting angle can support placement in seasonal clip strips or near the register alongside other holiday impulse buys through December.

C-Store Candy Context

Seasonal and limited-edition candy formats have become a reliable traffic driver in the convenience channel. Limited-time offerings in the candy category consistently outperform year-round SKUs on a velocity basis during the fourth quarter, as shoppers seek novelty alongside traditional holiday staples. For single-store operators and regional chains alike, a recognizable brand name in a fresh seasonal wrapper lowers the risk of trialing new inventory.

Hi-Chew has built meaningful c-store distribution over the past several years on the strength of its peg bag lineup — formats that fit standard candy pegs without planogram disruption. The 1.8 oz peg bag entry point for the Holiday Mix mirrors that proven format, while the 5.6 oz stand-up pouch competes in the growing sharing and gifting segment of the candy aisle.

Teruhiro Kawabe, Chief Representative for the USA and President & CEO of Morinaga America, Inc., said the mix was designed to tie into holiday ritual: "We hope these festive flavors become part of holiday celebrations and help create sweet moments for family and friends to enjoy together."

For operators building out a seasonal candy assortment, the Holiday Mix offers a low-footprint, high-visual-impact option with an established brand behind it. The limited-time nature of the SKU also supports urgency messaging at the shelf — a tactic that plays well in the forecourt convenience format where impulse drives a significant share of inside-sales comps.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.