Cool Hunting

Guys and gals are different. In Japan, that means one thing: separate junk food. Osaka-based confectionary Glico paved the way years back when it introduced its popular chocolate and biscuit snack "Pocky" in male-geared bitter chocolate. The name of this groundbreaking product? "Men's Pocky." So clever.

Now that we've got chocolate snacks covered, next up is chewing gum. Last fall, Kanebo Foods introduced Otoko Kaoru, which literally means "man smell." Yum. The product was so popular at launch that it was back-ordered. The "rose menthol" sugarless gum is supposed to make males smell better better as they chomp. Each stick contains rose essence that is absorbed and then release through your pores much like in the same way alcohol is. Know that chewing too many sticks causes the gum to work as a laxative. (Ed. note: Compact Impact also sells citrus and rose versions available in both gum and candy form.)

This spring, multinational conglomerate Lotte rolled out Men's Style "etiquette" chewing gum. According to the company, Men's Style is aimed specially at males from 30 to 50 years old. The gum comes in two flavors: Winter Green and Hot Cinnamon. Winter Green has a hint of black pepper, while Hot Cinnamon is flavored with red peppers and, well, cinnamon. Both are laced with caffeine, because adults love that caffeine!

Our taste test? Otoko Kaoru had the best flavor per se, but the actually gum itself was waxy. After five sticks, we ended up smelling like hand lotion and with a slight tummy ache. Men's Style Winter Green was indeed peppery and tasted like burning detergent. Thankfully, Hot Cinnamon had flavor that could be only described as cinnamon.

by Brian Ashcraft