, stylized as ROYCE', is a Japanese

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

manufacturing company. The company is best known for its , a form of

ganache Ganache ( or ; ) is a glaze, icing, sauce, or filling for pastries, made from chocolate and cream. In the broad sense of the term, ganache is an emulsion between (melted) solid chocolate (which is made with cocoa butter, the fat phase) and ...

made with melted cacao and fresh cream, and dusted with fine cocoa powder.

History

Royce' was established in July 1983, with a total capital of ¥10.0 million. Royce's first head office building was located in

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

, about 500 miles north of

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. By November of that year, Royce' began to produce their first chocolates. The company's first two years saw rather slow growth as it integrated into the Japanese economy. In September 1985, Royce's capital had increased to ¥30.5 million, and it introduced their first mass produced chocolate, a chocolate bar. In September 1989, Royce' was finally able to add a chocolate molding line, allowing the company to further compete with other market brands. It was not until the 1990s that Royce' would become a significant player in the

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n candy industry. The company introduced their ''Pure Chocolate'' line in 1990. The first Royce' shop was established in May 1993, named the "Higashi Naebo Main Shop". This shop, like others to come, would sell Royce' chocolates, as well as company and area-related souvenirs. Royce'

cookie A cookie is a sweet biscuit with high sugar and fat content. Cookie dough is softer than that used for other types of biscuit, and they are cooked longer at lower temperatures. The dough typically contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of ...

production also began in 1993. In 1995 Royce' introduced the ''Nama Chocolate'' product line, which became a mainstay for the company. Nama chocolate is a form of

made with melted cacao and fresh cream, and dusted with fine

cocoa powder Dry cocoa solids are the components of cocoa beans remaining after cocoa butter, the fatty component of the bean, is extracted from chocolate liquor, roasted cocoa beans that have been ground into a liquid state. Cocoa butter is 46% to 57% of the ...

. The word ''nama'' means ''raw'', and nama chocolate is a regulated type of Japanese chocolate. A delivery center was established in 1996, served by a fleet of semi-

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...

s that took Royce's products to clients. In March 1997 the company opened a sales shop in downtown

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

, establishing its first contact with the city where they are currently headquartered. The Royce' sales shop was established inside a

Mitsukoshi is an international Department stores in Japan, department store chain with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Its holding company, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, is a member of the Mitsui, Mitsui Group. History It was founded in 1673 with the (sho ...

department store. In June of the same year, with the Sapporo public already familiar with the Royce' brand, the company moved their headquarters to Sapporo, in the Higashi-ku district. The Truffle chocolate brand was later established, and a new distribution center was inaugurated in November. Royce' began selling its chocolates in Hokkaidō area

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

s, including Chitose Airport. By June 1998, Royce' had established an

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

website. The next month, the company announced that its capital had risen to slightly more than twice the amount from the previous announcement, or to ¥61 million. A new manufacturing facility was inaugurated by Royce', in July 1999, at Futomi. In September of that same year, the company moved its headquarters for the third time, but stayed within Sapporo. In December 2000, Royce' launched an online store. By that year, the company had begun an advertisement campaign on

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is a Japanese airline headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. ANA operates services to both domestic and international destinations and is Japan's largest airline, ahead of its main rival flag carrier Japan Airlines. the airline has approximate ...

' inflight magazine. By 2002, Royce' also began to sell

bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based baked goods made in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, bagels, Pastry, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as Coffeehouse, cafés, servi ...

products.

Origin of the name

The company's name, Royce', is derived from the first name of its founder, Yasuhiro Yamazaki (山崎泰博). First, the four morae were reversed to form ロヒスヤ (rohisuya), which was then transformed to ロヒズヤ (rohizuya) for aesthetic reasons. The founder interpreted ヤ as 屋, which is a common suffix in Japanese shop names, leaving the name ロイズ (roizu). This was respelled in English as ROYCE'S, and simplified to ROYCE'.

Chocolate products

* Dacquoise *

Financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of property. Types of in ...

*Lurumaro Chocola * Madeleines *Nama Chocolate *Nutty Bar Chocolate *Petite Truffe *Royce' Chocolate Bars *Royce' Pure Chocolate *Potato Chip Chocolate *

Popcorn Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns, or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated. The term also refers to the snack food produced by the expansion. It is one of the oldest snacks, with evidence of p ...

*Baton Cookies * Wafers *Prafeuille Chocolat *Criollo Chocolate *Namachoco Croissant

Retail

Royce' has expanded its retail presence over the years, and as of 2021 has 13 major stores throughout Japan. The company is also well-known for its duty-free shops in airports, with 29 shops in Japanese airports. The company ships from its Japanese production facilities to consumers in Japan. Royce' has retail shops in 16 countries outside Japan. In the United States, the company has 15 retail outlets, with same-day delivery and pick-up services available at some of their boutique shops using services like Grubhub and

Uber Eats Uber Eats is an online food ordering and delivery platform launched by the company Uber in 2014. It is operational in over 6,000 cities in 45 countries as of 2021. History Uber Eats' parent company Uber was founded in 2009 by Garrett ...

. Royce' Confect USA also sells directly to consumers in the continental US through its online store. In March 2020, the company closed all 9 of its retail locations in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and exited the country. Royce' cited dropping sales as the reason for leaving the South Korean marketplace, fueled by a boycott of Japanese products across the country.

References

External links