Hello Panda is a brand of Japanese biscuit, manufactured by Meiji Seika. It was first released in Japan during 1979.[1] Each biscuit consists of a small hollow shortbread layer, filled with crème of various flavors.[2] On some biscuits there are printed cartoon style depictions of giant pandas doing various activities, such as fencing, and archery. In the United States, the biscuits show the pandas doing other activities such as basketball, hockey and baseball.[1]
Hello Panda was originally baked in Japan by Meiji Seika, but production later began in Singapore and Indonesia. The Singapore bakery facilities started producing other Meiji products in 1974. The biscuits are exported to most developed countries, such as the United Kingdom (by Unisnacks), most European countries, the United States, the Middle East, Australia and Canada. Certain varieties of the biscuit are found only in certain countries. For example, the chocolate pretzel variety is produced by Meiji America, Meiji's North American division, and are thus sold in North America.[3]