The Healthy Asian Snack Gap: Why It Exists and What Pon Pon Is Doing About It
Search "high protein Asian snacks" right now. We'll wait.
What comes up? Protein bars. Jerky. Maybe some edamame. Not biscuit sticks. Not matcha-coated anything. Not the snacks that generations of Asian and Asian American kids grew up trading at recess and hoarding in their school bags.
That gap is real, and it's been sitting there for years. We built Pon Pon to fill it.
The snack aisle needs a major refresh
The Asian snack category has been around for decades. Biscuit sticks, coated crackers, matcha treats, strawberry milk everything. These aren't niche products. They're deeply tied to culture, memory, and community. They're the snacks that feel like a specific corner of your childhood.
But they were never designed with nutrition in mind. Or fiber. Or just 2g of sugar. They were designed to taste incredible, and they absolutely nailed that part. The nutritional profile just never got a second look.
So you end up with two completely separate aisles. The one with the snacks you love. And the one with the snacks that are technically better for you. Nobody has made them the same aisle. Until now.
Why is it so hard to fix?
This is the part most people don't realize. Reformulating a beloved snack isn't just a recipe tweak. It's genuinely hard.
We know because we spent 200+ kitchen iterations learning this the hard way.
The cream coating that makes a biscuit stick worth eating, that smooth layer that melts slightly against the snap of the biscuit, is the hardest part to get right when you start changing the formula. Here's what nobody tells you:
Whey protein adds bitterness. Monk fruit has a lingering sweetness that sits differently than sugar. Erythritol, a natural sugar alcohol, creates a slight cooling sensation that can throw off the whole flavor profile. And with only about 2g of sugar in the formula, there's almost nothing to mask any of those off-notes.
Every time we swapped one thing, something else would break. The texture would turn grainy. The flavor would taste artificial. The coating wouldn't stick the way it should.
200 batches. Flour on every surface. A cream base that absolutely did not want to cooperate.
What we did about it
The short version: we didn't compromise on flavor to hit the nutrition numbers. We worked until both were right.
Pon Pon biscuit sticks have 10g of protein per serving. They're made with real matcha and real strawberry, not "matcha flavor" sourced from a lab. They're sweetened with monk fruit instead of refined sugar, with just 2g of sugar per serving, and packed with fiber. And they have that snap. The crispy, satisfying crunch that's the whole reason biscuit sticks are worth eating in the first place.
The cream coating is smooth. Not chalky. Not grainy. Just smooth, flavored coating that actually tastes like what it says on the box.
We make them at our factory in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, where we oversee every detail of production. No shortcuts. No mystery ingredients.
For the younger version of you
If you grew up eating Asian snacks and you've spent years putting them back on the shelf because of the label, this is for you.
If you want a high protein snack but refuse to suffer through a chalky bar that lies to you about tasting good, this is also for you.
And if you're just looking for a snack that actually tastes like a real matcha latte or a creamy strawberry milk, in biscuit stick form, with 10g of protein and just 2g of sugar: hi. that's exactly what we built.
Pon Pon Batch 01 is available for preorder now. Matcha Latte and Strawberry Milk, both available. Every preorder includes 2 free bonus boxes and free shipping. Ships mid-June 2026.