OSAKA—Throughout hardships, tragedies and doubts expressed from outsiders, the head of a century-old confectioner has remained convinced that marshmallows are the future of the business.

“I am very excited about making marshmallows, which hold the promise of growth,” said So Horie, 46, the president of Yachiyo-do based in Osaka’s Ikuno Ward.

To ring in 2022 and mark the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese astrological calendar, the company has produced the Tora-san (tiger) Marshmallow.

Yachiyo-do’s lineup consists of several dozen marshmallow products available for wholesalers and direct sales on the internet.

“People may say that the ‘marshmallow-only’ business is risky,” Horie said. “But when you get right down to it, there is no confectionery that has a bigger potential than marshmallows.”

His predecessors may have never imagined customers flocking to the traditional store for a sweet from the West.

Yachiyo-do has been in business since 1911. Back then, Horie’s great-grandfather, Takaichi, sold rice crackers near a makeshift playhouse in Osaka’s nightlife district of Matsushima-Shinchi in today’s Nishi Ward.

The business grew, and Takaichi started making “hozui,” a Japanese-style confection made mainly from Japanese gelatin. But people tend to buy hozui only during the Bon holiday week.

About 80 years ago, Yachiyo-do began experimenting with marshmallows, which have a texture similar to hozui. After Horie’s grandfather, Kazuhiro, inherited the business, the company focused on making marshmallows a main product.

When Horie was quite young, he frequented the store’s workspace to earn some extra spending money.

But he wanted to work outside the family business at least once, so he took a job at a food production company.

At the age of 24, Horie started working at Yachiyo-do, hoping to “study management and learn how to make marshmallows under the wing of my grandfather.”

Horie’s plan was interrupted four years later when Kazuhiro became sick. The operation of the long-established business suddenly weighed heavily on Horie’s shoulders.

He visited Kazuhiro in the hospital every day, asking such questions as: “How should I socialize with clients?” and “What should I do to bring the employees together?”

The following year, another tragedy struck the company. The head of its factory who was considered the backbone of operations died suddenly.

“I had to take full responsibility not only in management but also in production,” Horie recalled.

Even a machinery failure brought everything to a standstill. When Horie tried to streamline the process, the production flow was disrupted.

A client complained, “Yachiyo-do has lost its flavor.”

“It was so tough that I have no recollection of those times,” Horie said with a bitter laugh.

Things turned around a few years later, but Horie remained frustrated about the way “marshmallows are looked down upon among sweets.”

Some people around Horie told him, “I remember eating them when I was little, but they weren’t tasty.”

He even heard that marshmallows were used as projectiles fired in combat survival games abroad.

But Horie stuck with marshmallows, and decided they needed an added value.

He designed “cute” products, such as cats and dogs, pumpkin-shaped and ghost-shaped marshmallows for Halloween, and a marshmallow Santa Claus for Christmas.

Attracted by such products, children who bought them said they felt “sad to eat them.”

Horie said he tries not to add any other substance to the marshmallow sweets. For children with allergies, he has developed products that do not contain flour or eggs.

In 2007, he started selling marshmallow products online.

Through word of mouth on social media, his fish-shaped marshmallow became a big hit in 2019. He came up with the idea from the rising popularity of camping and roasting marshmallows over a fire.

Yachiyo-do’s tiger-shaped Tora-san Marshmallow contains six pieces and is available for 1,047 yen ($9.30), including tax.

Horie said he wants to make more marshmallow products that go well with Japanese seasonal and traditional events.

“I have eaten marshmallows from all over the world, but I have no doubt that the Japanese ones taste the best,” he said. “I want people around the world to know this taste.”

He added, “Marshmallow-making is so exciting because it has so much potential.”

Yachiyo-do’s products are available here: （https://www.rakuten.ne.jp/gold/marshmallow-k/）