Max Brenner debuts first flagship Chocolate Bar in Japan

Global chocolate brand expands into new market in the fashionable Omotesando Hills neighborhood of Tokyo.

As part of its strategic global expansion plan, New York City-based Max Brenner International debuted its first Max Brenner Chocolate Bar in Tokyo’s swanky Omotesando Hills neighborhood last month.

The newest Max Brenner Chocolate Bar opened with great fanfare on Nov. 30, just in time for the holiday season with hundreds of customers waiting in line and more than 800 served throughout the day. The company plans to open a second location adjacent to the city's famous Tokyo Skytree, the tallest tower in the world.

Both locations are part of a franchise agreement with Transit General Office, Inc., a Tokyo-based company that owns, develops and operates specialty restaurants and cafes as well as office, hotel, and other commercial food and beverage facilities.

"This is an exciting time for the Max Brenner brand — we are committed to creating a new chocolate culture and providing a one-of-a-kind chocolate experience across the world," says Sam Borgese, Max Brenner International’s ceo. "Expanding into Japan is a great next step for the brand and we are pleased to have Transit General Office as great partners to help us."

Known for making chocolate a full sensory experience for its consumers, Max Brenner Chocolate Bars “expand the boundaries of how chocolate is enjoyed,” the company says. The Omotesando Hills' location includes a Chocolate Bar serving the brand's signature items — including hot chocolate in a Hug Mug, icy Choctails, Chocolate Chunks Pizza and Chocolate Fondue — as well as a retail shop stocked with unique gift sets and Max Brenner's famous bonbons.

"We are thrilled to be a part of the global expansion happening across Max Brenner," says Sadahiro Nakamura, ceo of Transit General Office, Inc. "Finding innovative companies that will enhance our portfolio of specialty restaurants, cafes and retail shops is a goal of Transit and we passionately believe in Max Brenner and its unique chocolate philosophy."

Currently, Max Brenner operates four chocolate bar restaurants in Boston, Las Vegas, Philadelphia and New York City, as well as more than 40 Chocolate Bars internationally. It has plans for upcoming openings in Russia and the United States and a focus on other locations in Asia, Europe and North America.

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With more than 30 years experience in B-to-B reporting, writing and editing — the bulk of which was dedicated to covering the bakery, confectionery and snack industries — Pacyniak has chronicled changes within the food industry since the early 1980s. A Boston University journalism degree graduate, he worked for a variety of publications before joining BNP Media in 1994 as editor of Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery magazine. In 2001, he took over as editor-in-chief of Candy Industry until 2018.