Brands & lifestyle
The brands of everyday Asia
Stationery, snacks, neighbourhood chains, tech and conglomerates: the houses you meet daily in China, Japan and Korea, and what they say about those countries. Beauty brands have their own hub.
41 brands
JapanBandai (バンダイ)Japan's leading toy maker: Gunpla, gachapon, Tamagotchi and trading cards.KoreaMonami (모나미)The 153 pen, a Korean national object sold in over four billion units.JapanNissin Foods (日清食品)The inventor of instant noodles and of the polystyrene cup that fed the planet.KoreaNongshim (농심)Shin Ramyun, the red noodle that made Korean chilli a global taste.JapanPilot (パイロット)The Japanese pen par excellence, from the lacquered Namiki fountain pen to the erasable Frixion.ChinaAlibabaThe Chinese e-commerce giant founded by Jack Ma.JapanAsics (アシックス)"A sound mind in a sound body" abbreviated from Latin, and the Onitsuka Tiger turned fashion icon.JapanCalbee (カルビー)The king of Japanese snacks, from Kappa Ebisen to shrimp-and-wasabi crisps.KoreaCoupang (쿠팡)Dawn delivery, rolled out nationwide before Amazon ever got there.JapanDaiso (ダイソー)The hundred-yen shop that turned a price constraint into a design discipline.ChinaDeli (得力)The office supplier that equipped working China, from the stapler to the whiteboard.JapanDon Quijote (ドン・キホーテ)The all-night bazaar whose disorder is a deliberate commercial strategy.ChinaHero (英雄钢笔)The fountain pen of the People's Republic, given to graduates and copied from the Parker 51.ChinaHuaweiThe Chinese telecom equipment maker and smartphone manufacturer.KoreaHyundaiThe major South Korean industrial group, notably in automotive.KoreaKakaoThe South Korean company behind the KakaoTalk messenger.JapanKokuyo (コクヨ)The Campus notebook, in nearly every Japanese schoolbag since 1975.JapanLINE (ライン)The messaging app born of a disaster, now Japan's social operating system.KoreaLotteThe major Korean-Japanese conglomerate, notably in confectionery and retail.ChinaM&G Chenguang (晨光文具)China's leading stationer: 80,000 outlets, nearly all of them next to a school.JapanMaruman (マルマン)The Mnemosyne notebook, black and severe, designed for thinking rather than decorating.JapanMeiji (明治)The chocolate, the milk and the medicines of one century-old group.JapanMidori / Designphil (ミドリ)The leather Traveler's Notebook and MD paper, two objects that became global notebook cults.ChinaMiniso (名创优品)The Chinese chain that long passed itself off as Japanese, and now sells licences.ChinaMixue (蜜雪冰城)One-euro bubble tea, forty thousand shops and a mascot with an unforgettable jingle.KoreaMorning Glory (모닝글로리)The stationery of Korean schoolbags, and the ancestor of the cute-character notebook.JapanMuji (無印良品)The Japanese brand of the "no brand": minimalism, restraint and honest design.KoreaNaverSouth Korea's leading search engine and internet portal.KoreaOrion (오리온)The Choco Pie, a Korean suburban cake that became a currency in North Korea.JapanPentel (ぺんてる)The inventor of the modern felt-tip, the automatic mechanical pencil and the pocket brush.ChinaPop Mart & LabubuThe Chinese blind boxes and their toothy little creature that took over the world.JapanSakura Color (サクラクレパス)The inventor of the Cray-Pas and the Pigma Micron, the archival-ink pen of illustrators.KoreaSamsungSouth Korea's largest conglomerate, an electronics giant.JapanSanrio & Hello KittyThe Japanese empire of kawaii, led by a little cat turned global icon.JapanSonyThe Japanese conglomerate of electronics, entertainment and video games.JapanTombow (トンボ鉛筆)The dragonfly of Japanese writing: the Mono eraser and the dual-tip markers of illustrators.JapanToyotaThe leading Japanese carmaker, pioneer of "lean" production.JapanUni / Mitsubishi Pencil (三菱鉛筆)Japan's benchmark pencil, the Jetstream, and a three-diamond logo unrelated to the other Mitsubishi.JapanUniqloFrom a small Hiroshima store to a global leader in functional clothing.ChinaXiaomi (小米)From the phone sold at cost to a full ecosystem, and then to the electric car.JapanZebra (ゼブラ)The Sarasa, the Mildliner and a name borrowed from a herd that never splits up.