Pepero – Almond

I’ve come to the realization that I haven’t tried Pepero in the last couple of years, which is a little shocking. I guess when it comes to biscuit sticks I also haven’t had a whole lot of Pocky either. When it comes to biscuit sticks I tend to prefer Toppo whenever it’s available, but the selection is obviously a lot more limited.

I’m sure many will debate on the merits of Pocky and Pepero and which is better, but to me it’s a situation of different strokes for different folks. There’s no denying that Pocky has a lot more in the way of selection of flavours outside of it’s country of origin, but that doesn’t minimize Pepero’s ability to go with the slow and steady approach, working on what they do best and then slowly branching out.

I opted to get the almond flavour, mostly because it was on sale but also because chocolate and almonds are a timeless classic. It’s also one of the more iconic flavours in my eyes. Might as well start from the top, right?

One thing I will say is the biscuit sticks themselves are thicker and have more of a digestive cookie flavour to them than Pocky, which is more of a crispy, almost hollow stick that gives it more of a snap. These feel a little more substantial in that sense. Another thing to note is the coating is quite generous with lots of slivered almonds strewn all about. It really gives the stick a bit of heft when you lift it up, and I now realize why their biscuit has to be more thick. Structural integrity is always a key consideration for these types of snacks. The chocolate is standard milk chocolate affair, but the perfectly portioned and sized almond slivers are what really elevate these sticks.

The texture is largely where these will win people over, the almond and chocolate working together along with the biscuit to deliver a singular experience that is hard to perfect, but Pepero comes close. All the proportions are just right and remind me of a really tasty drumstick, except without ice cream. Also, how great would these be with some ice cream??

The best way I can describe Pepero is that it’s a Pocky variant that focuses more of having texture components stand out instead of flavour alone. It’s like the Ben and Jerry’s of chocolate, where other similarly priced products like Haagen Dazs focus on flavour more. While I do think Pocky does the biscuit and chocolate better overall, there’s no denying that the overall mouthfeel and texture of Pepero is superior for the most part.

All this is to say that Pepero is not exactly the same as Pocky, and that’s a good thing. Having both options on the market is great for consumers, so go forth and experiment, try both and see what you enjoy more!