Yan Yan (snack)

Yan Yan with chocolate sticks and vanilla dip

Yan Yan is a Japanese snack food made by Meiji Seika. It comes in a package with two compartments. One side has biscuit sticks (which can be sometimes called cracker sticks), and the other has chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, or yogurt flavored frosting used for dipping. The sticks themselves may also be flavored. Some Yan Yan products are sold in rectangular containers with 9 sticks and dip. There is also a new version which includes two flavored dips.

The sticks

A package of regular Yan Yan

The sticks were once plain, but recently Meiji has placed pictures of various animals on them with quotes relating to that animal. The quotes are in English, but often appear unorthodox to native English speakers. Examples of these animal quotes include:

  • Zebra: Herbivore
  • Octopus: Lucky Number: 8
  • Starfish: Star in the sea / Star+Fish
  • Cat: Say Meow
  • Rhinoceros: Think Big
  • Bat: Only In The Night
  • Squirrel: Your Best Friend
  • Rabbit: Eat More Carrots
  • Mouse: Do Not Be Timid
  • Horse: Gallop Away
  • Squid: Black Ink
  • Beetle: Lucky Color: Brown
  • Seal: Loves To Sun Tan
  • Sheep: Wool Sweaters
  • Stag Beetle: Love It
  • Chicken: Kokekokko
  • Duck: Go For A Swim
  • Whale: Biggesy [sic] Mammal
  • Giraffe: Tallest Mammal
  • Fox: Beware Of Lies
  • Snail: Snail Mail?
  • Chick: Lucky Color: Yellow
  • Goat: You Are Lucky Today
  • Mole: In A Hole
  • Elephant: Jumbo
  • Panda: Go for More
  • Frog: Amphibian
  • Owl: Active At Night
  • Balloon: Goes Pop
  • Kettle: Goes Ssss
  • Cow: Muuuuu

Some of the animal-related quotes relate not to facts about the animals, but instead to the noise the animal makes, which is printed in a Japanese-influenced English dialect. For example:

There are also two "golden" non-animal quotes: Golden Egg and Golden Log.

Flavors

Yan-yan comes in a variety of flavors. This includes vanilla sticks with chocolate, strawberry, mango, vanilla cream, and the newest, hazelnut, or chocolate sticks with vanilla cream.

Relation to other snacks

Pocky is a similar Japanese snack which includes thinner sticks pre-dipped in cream. The cream comes in a much wider variety of flavors such as green tea cream or honey-flavored cream. Yan Yans are dipped by the consumer themselves, and come in a more limited assortment of flavors. They both also have 160 calories per serving (30g). Meiji also produces another very popular snack called "Hello Panda". It is a panda-shaped biscuit with either chocolate, strawberry or vanilla flavored fillings. Each biscuit has a cartoon print on it depicting pandas playing various sports. Yan Yan is also similar to the American snack Dunk-a-roos.

External links