A new limited-edition cup ice cream called Mamire Caramelic Pudding from Morinaga Seika is arriving at convenience stores across Japan on May 18, 2026 (Monday). After roughly four years of development, the product uses a patented manufacturing method (Patent No. 7809237) that keeps the caramel-flavored sauce pourable even at freezer temperatures — a feature the team describes as the core of the experience.
The name "Mamire" means "covered in" or "soaked in," and the concept is exactly that: a cup of custard ice cream generously drenched in caramel sauce from the first spoonful to the last, aiming to deliver the richness of a restaurant-style caramel-sauced pudding in an ice cream format.
The "Experience-Type Ice Cream" Trend
With short-form video and fast-paced media consumption becoming everyday habits, Morinaga Seika observed a growing appetite for foods where the process of eating is itself enjoyable — not just the flavor. The team saw parallels between speeding through media content and enjoying rapid contrast and change in food experiences.
From this observation, the Mamire project was born: an ice cream where the texture, flavor, and eating experience shift noticeably from start to finish.
Four Years of Development
The Mamire team started with a deceptively simple goal: an ice cream genuinely soaked in sauce, where the sauce remains present and fluid from the moment the lid comes off to the last bite. Getting there proved to be a major technical challenge.
The primary hurdle was creating a sauce that would not freeze solid in a home freezer, while also using enough of it to achieve a truly "soaked" effect — and doing so reliably at mass-production scale. The team worked through repeated rounds of testing and reformulation, investigating why the sauce would freeze and why the layered structure would lose stability, adjusting both the recipe and the manufacturing process step by step.
The final design is a three-layer cup: a custard ice cream at the bottom, a crunchy white chocolate layer in the middle, and a fluid caramel-flavored sauce on top. Development took approximately four years.
A member of the Mamire research team noted that ordinary sauce-filled ice creams tend to freeze solid right out of the freezer, with only a small amount of sauce inside. The team's goal was to create a version where the sauce is abundant and still perfectly pourable from the moment you open the lid.
Product Details: Three-Layer Structure
Layer breakdown:
- Top: Toasty, fluid caramel-flavored sauce that stays soft straight from the freezer
- Middle: A crunchy white chocolate layer for texture contrast
- Bottom: Rich custard ice cream with a noticeable egg flavor
Each spoonful can mix different elements, and the flavors and textures shift throughout the eating experience.
Recommended ways to eat:
- Start by scooping the caramel sauce on its own to enjoy the toasty caramel flavor directly
- As you work through the cup, mix the sauce, custard ice cream, and white chocolate together to experience the changing flavors and textures
- Recommended as an end-of-day indulgence or an everyday reward for yourself
Product Overview
| Product Name | Mamire Caramelic Pudding |
| Volume | 80ml |
| Suggested Retail Price | ¥298 (excl. tax) / ¥321 (incl. tax) |
| Launch Date | May 18, 2026 (Monday), while supplies last |
| Availability | Convenience stores nationwide (limited-time) |
| Target | Men and women looking to enjoy everyday indulgence |
