Lotte Koume Sweet & Tart Japanese Plum Hard Candy

Koume ("little plum") is one of Japan's most nostalgic candies: a hard candy packed with concentrated Nanko-ume plum flavor — the prized plum variety from Wakayama Prefecture, famous for its rich aroma and balanced sweet-tart taste. Each individually wrapped piece blends plum juice, plum flesh powder, plum purée, and plum extract into one intensely fruity, tangy-sweet bite.

Beloved in Japan for over 50 years, Koume is instantly recognizable by its charming mascot, "Koume-chan," and has built a devoted fanbase around its distinctly Japanese take on plum candy — more tart and complex than a typical fruit candy, closer to the flavor of real umeboshi (pickled plum) in candy form.

Materials:

• Sugar (domestically produced)
• Starch syrup (mizuame)
• Concentrated plum juice
• Plum flesh powder
• Plum purée
• Plum extract
• Acidulant
• Anthocyanin coloring
• Flavoring