News Iconic Japanese candy maker to cease operations after 114 years

Sakuma's Drops, a hard candy that is flavored with real fruit juice and steeped in tradition, is the company's flagship brand. It appeared in symbolic scenes in the 1986 anime movie "Grave of the Fireflies" by Studio Ghibli -- a tragic story of an orphaned boy and his little sister in Japan during World War II. [...] Sakumaseika was founded in 1908 and Sakuma's Drops have long been its bestseller. The company recorded a loss of 151 million yen ($1.03 million) in the fiscal year that ended September 2021 after it was unable to raise product prices to absorb the rising cost of the ingredients. Sakuma Confectionary, which also makes candies and is based in Tokyo, and is called Sakuma Seika in Japanese, is a different company. A spokesperson at the company said it will not be affected by Sakumaseika's decision.

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thomas said:

I'm not really fond of drops, but I'm sure they'll sell a lot till January.

Amazon.co.jp : sakuma drops candy

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