Bourbon (ブルボン) is a snack company established in 1924, in Niigata. Their products are chosen by so many people, especially elderlies, so that our image towards the company is more like “retro”. Design of the package has not changed since long time ago, but this is what makes the company very unique and special.
Great thing about Bourbon is that it is probably the most Muslim-friendly Japanese snack company! There are so many Halal souvenirs we would like to introduce to you.
So many Bourbon products are available at Don Quijote.
Is Bourbon making Halal snacks?
If asked if the company is working on making Halal products or not, we have to say the answer is no. None of their products are Halal-certified.
However, there are some products that do not use animal-derived ingredients and alcohol. These products are very close to Halal. We have got in touch with Bourbon and asked them about the ingredients and risk of contamination.
Which are the Halal products from Bourbon?
Because Bourbon now has more than 300 products, it is impossible to name all of their Halal or Muslim-friendly products here. We have selected some of the most famous and popular products, and confirmed how they are processed.
Alfort is a chocolate and digestive biscuit snack, which is also famous among tourists from overseas, too. This is because of their great taste, as well as the selection of flavors. There are normal, strawberry, white chocolate, and bitter and Matcha Green Tea which represents the taste of Japan!
Since their selections are available at convenience stores and Don Quijote, they are very easy to be found. Try one from convenience store and buying a bulk from Don Quijote is a great idea.
So far, it is confirmed that Alfort series is free from haram ingredients and not contaminated in their process line.
Elise is a light wafer snack with cream inside. There are two flavors, normal chocolate and cream, with some limited flavors as well.
“Snack with wafer and cream” sounds like very usual, but once you try it, you will know that is a totally wrong. This product is also free from both animal-derived ingredients and alcohol.
Lemonde is a snack whose crispy crepe is coated with sweet chocolate. As a Japanese snack, it is comparatively sweet, but it is one of Bourbon’s best sellers. There are cocoa, caramel and Matcha flavors.
The great news is that now they do not contain any alcohol! They were using alcohol until March 2023, but they have just stopped adding alcohol for flavoring.
If you want to try Lemonde without alcohol, please check the label as well as expiry date carefully. Expiry date has to be on or after March 2024, and you have to choose normal Lemonde. There is Luxurious Lemonde (贅沢ルマンド) which uses fermented butter, but as of July 2023, alcohol is still used according to their website.
This is their official answer, but as we have checked a package with two flavors, Cacao and Caramel, we still found Liquor (洋酒) is used for Cacao flavor. This may be because the recipe is still in transition time, so please check the label carefully and avoid the one with Liquor (洋酒).
Although Bourbon is famous for sweet snacks, they also have some savories, too. This Petit series is their smash hit, and you may find this snack everywhere in Japan. They are all packed in a long, column package with snack of one bite size.
They have so many flavors, but what you have to be careful is that the Consommé and Karaage flavors contain animal-derived ingredients. Other than these flavors, it is confirmed that they are free from animal-derived ingredients and alcohol.
As they have limited editions, please check the flavoring carefully, and do not choose the flavor with a meat ingredient.
Credit: https://www.bourbon.co.jp/
Left top is Consommé flavor, which should not be chosen.
We have also asked them about the risk of contamination. The great thing is that those mentioned products are not manufactured along with other products that have animal-derived ingredients!
However, they have some products that have alcohol manufactured in the same machinery. The alcohol percentage will be extremely low, probably lower than 0.5%, the number stated by religious authorities to be considered as Halal. Machineries are all thoroughly cleaned after manufacturing these products, so Bourbon thinks that the risk of contamination with alcohol is quite low.
Enjoy Japanese Sweet snacks!
As bourbon has so many products, it is quite difficult to mention all the names, however, it seems like the company is producing so many products that can be Muslim-friendly! It is not advisable to assume that the products are Muslim-friendly only by checking on the label, but there is a high possibility that the products can be Muslim-friendly.
If you have any item that you want us to find out, do let us know!
Information as of July 2023. The products we have introduced to you are not made as Halal or Muslim-friendly, so there is a small risk of contamination, which we cannot be responsible of. We are here to translate the label and not judging if the product is Halal or not, please use your own discretion.
