Koala's March
Bite-sized koala-shaped cookies with sweet fillings.
via Wikipedia: Koala's March · see source
Koala's March is a Japanese brand of bite-sized cookie snacks with a sweet filling, produced by Lotte. The cookies are shaped like koalas, with printing on the outside showing the koala doing some sort of activity, such as playing drums, holding a picture, posing, playing a trumpet, or crying from appendicitis.
Quick Facts
- Country
- Japan
- Creator
- Lotte
- Course
- Snack
Facts from the source article.
History
Koala's March was first released in Japan in 1984 to celebrate the arrival of the first koalas to the country, originally only with a chocolate filling. The product expanded to Hong Kong in 1986. In 1988, Japanese students started a rumor that finding a cookie with a koala with two eyebrows playing a trumpet would bring good luck on exams, a myth that persisted until at least 2019. The snack reached Australia by 1990 and the United States in May 1990, where it was initially sold as "Koala Yummies" before adopting the name "Koala's March." In the US, it is mainly found in Asian and some Hispanic specialty stores. The product was affected by the 2008 Chinese milk scandal. In 2012, Lotte released an emergency food version without filling, sold in cans with a five-year shelf life.
Description
Each cookie is shaped like a koala and printed with one of over 600 official designs showing the animal doing activities such as playing drums, holding a picture, posing, playing a trumpet, or crying from appendicitis. As of 2023, only 365 designs are actively manufactured; new designs reflect current technology or cultural trends, while outdated ones (e.g., a koala using a pager) are retired. Fillings include flavors such as apple pie, banana, cheesecake, chocolate (with bitter and white variants), cocoa and milk, cotton candy, honey, latte (with almond and caramel variants), lemon tart, matcha, pineapple, strawberry, and vanilla. Collaborations have been made with brands including Pokémon, Franck Muller, Attack on Titan, Hello Kitty, and Madoka Magica. Koala's March supports the Australian Koala Foundation and also produces cards naming different types of koalas.
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