Scalpers are making bank off of the hottest new item in Japan. No, it isn't a brand new v♑ideo game or limited edition figure that's causing consumers to go crazy - the item that's everyone's trying to get their hands on are some officially licensed Pikachu-shaped gu🅰mmies.
Earlier this year, Japanese candy company Kanro announced they would be teaming up with The Company to release a brand new Pure Gumi (gummy) flavor called "Tropical." When the first commercials and other advertisements for t😼he flavor dropped in Japan, they were accomp🔯anied by a familiar yellow face: Pikachu!
Judging from Kanro's advertisements, the gumm🐽ies themselves are in the adorable shape of Pikachu. The "Tropical" flavor also appears to be a combination of pineapple, banana, and mango.
The gummy candies drop🐽ped only a month ago, but immediately after their market release, many customers complained regarding⛎ how difficult it was to find the Tropical-flavored gummies in stores. Kanro, who had not anticipated such a high demand for their new product, was caught off guard.
As it turns out, the gummies aren't completely unavailable - that is, only if customers are ℱwilling to pay as much as 3000 yen (about 30 USD) for some candy.
Many scalpers have capitalized on the unexpected popularity of this product and are now re-selling the Pikachu-themed gummy candies online. And judging⛦ from these screenshots from Mercari, a re-selling website, it seems like they're making some pretty good pr💎ofits off of people's desperation for these candies.
Each listing varies between the number of gummies being sold; ꧃some listings sell each package individually, while others are trying to re-sell the gummies in bulk. Each package also features a unique 💧Pikachu design on the front (e.g. Pikachu smiling, sleeping, etc.) and some scalpers are selling all variations as well.
Since Kanro caught wind of the gummy resale market, they have encouraged their customers not to purchase any of their candies from these re-sellers and apologized for their lack of inventory. However, their warning and apology were not accompanied by any indication as to wh🌜en these candies would ever be officially restocked, which hasn't assuaged customer's concerns.
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