Woah, woah, woah, that’s not a snack to eat - that’s a living and breathing cutie patootie from Sanrio! As we’ve all learned from our Ultimate List of Sanrio Characters, the kawaii powerhouse has more than 450 characters to fall in love with. While most of these kawaii superstars (like Hello Kitty, Pompompurin, Cinnamoroll, and Pochacco) are all based on cute animals, Sanrio has a few characters that are actually based on food!
It might sound strange to turn the treats you eat into cuddly cuties, but somehow Sanrio made it work. Now, we have kawaii food-based friends like Gudetama, Cogimyun, and Kirimichan to hang out with! Fill up your picnic basket with your favorite Japanese snacks because we’re going on a field trip together with all of Sanrio’s yummy buddies.
1. GUDETAMA
Meet Gudetama (ぐでたま), one of Sanrio’s most popular food-based superstars! A tired, lazy, little egg, Gudetama has an apathetic attitude towards life. There are only two things that Gudetama loves - soy sauce and being left alone. Despite its sluggishness, this non-binary egg always comes on top during the yearly Sanrio Character Ranking! There’s a good reason for that too - who doesn’t love a droopy, laid-back egg with a silly butt?
Despite his lazy egg ways, Gudetama is surrounded by a lot of friends. From the angry yellow chick Shakipiyo, the happy pale fresh egg Gyudechama, to strange the man who likes to pretend that he’s an egg, Fake Tama.If you’d like to read more about Sanrio’s lethargic little egg and all his egg friends, you can check out our Complete Guide to Gudetama! It has everything you need to know about Gudetama - from the Netflix show, to the cafes, even to all the kawaii Gudetama merch.
2. COGIMYUN
Sure, Cogimyun (こぎみゅん) might look like a cute little bunny, but she’s not! Soft, white, and fluffy, she’s actually a sweet little Cogimuna (コギムーナ) or wheat flour fairy. Cogimyun is 100% made of raw wheat flour - the thing that bakers use to make all sorts of bread. Created in 2015, this bun-wearing cutie has become one of the latest kawaii sensations from Sanrio. It even nabbed the 12th spot in the Sanrio Character Ranking in 2024!
Though Cogimyun can be delicate, she always gets back up. That’s because she has the help of her other flour-y friends like her pet fried shrimp Ebifurai, her younger brother Cogimyon, and the mysterious chocolate cornet Chocoronee. If you’d like to learn more about Cogimyun’s kawaii flour power, you can read up about her on our Guide to Cogimyun. It’s got all you need to know about this cutie - from the Cogimyun’s spot at Puroland, the Cogimyun cafe, and even the best places where you can find Cogimyun goodies.
3. KIRIMICHAN
We’d be remiss to leave Kirimichan (きりみちゃん) out of this list. This cutie is a filling slice of salmon that was born right after it was cut from a full piece of fish on August 31 (which is ironically Vegetable Day in Japan). It might sound strange for Sanrio to base one of its characters on a salmon slice, but more and more kawaii fans have been falling in love with Kirimichan! Taking her name from “kirimi,” the Japanese word for sliced food, Kirimichan dreams of becoming part of a delicious meal with her friends.
Yes, Kirimichan has other delicious “kirimi” friends too. There’s Kamaboko-chan who loves girl’s talk, Takuwanwan that’s part-dish-part-dog, Tai-kun who’s a cut of sea bream, and a whole smorgasbord of other sliced cuties. If you’d like to get to know more about Kirimi you cancheck out our Complete Blog about Kirimichan. You’ll get to learn about Kirimichan’s personality, her anime team-ups, her yummy food collabs, and even the best place to find Kirimichan merch to kawaii-fy your room!
4. DOKIDOKI YUMMYCHUMS
Is it possible to make a kawaii superstar out of fast food? Well, Sanrio tried! That attempt was Dokidoki Yummychums (ドキドキヤミーチャムズ), a group of fast food goodies that made its kawaii debut in 2003. The group is led by Dokidoki Burger, a hot and passionate burger that doesn’t really like cold places. There are many different flavors of Dokidoki burger so customers never get bored!
Of course, you can’t have a complete burger meal without fries, drinks, and other treats. Besides burger, the group also includes Dokidoki Fry, an idol with big round eyes who easily falls in love. Heart-pounding shake is another member of the group. He’s a lively boy who lets his feelings out when he gets excited. The Dokidoki Chicken Chums are newborn baby chicken nuggets that fly around with their friends! Exciting Hot Dog is a hotdog with cool flared hair. Last but not least is the Chili Pepper Trio, a group of foul-mouthed but loveable extremely hot chili peppers.
5. KASHIWANKOMOCHI
Is Kashiwankomochi (かしわんこもち) a dog or a ball of mochi (delicious Japanese rice cake)? He’s actually both! This half-dog, half-treat cutie from Sanrio is based on kashiwa mochi, a white mochi with sweet red bean filling wrapped by a kashiwa leaf. He was born on Children’s Day in Japan, the day that kashiwa mochi is usually eaten. During that time, an unsold kashi mochi magically transformed into half a dog, hoping that it would be purchased and adopted! Now, its dream is for you to eat delicious food every day all year round.
A single half-dog, half-mochi would be lonely on its own, that’s why Kashiwankomochi has a bunch of other mochi friends. Botawanko is a careless dog mochi that’s timid but kind. Based on sakura mochi, Sakura Inu is a laid-back cutie who loves fashion. She enjoys collecting cherry blossom leaves on her head! Meanwhile, Yayatochiri is a cheeky speckled creature. There’s also Uguisu-san who’s a bit of worrywart. Finally, we have the Shiratama Trio, laidback mochi balls that love to float.
6. PANKUCHI'S BREAD FRIENDS
Pankuchi (ぱんくんち) himself isn’t made out of food, but his friends are! This baby boy panda was abandoned in a cardboard box in a bamboo forest. Seeing there was no one around, he decided to go look for something to eat. That’s how he met his bread friends, Shokupan-kun and Koppepan-kun. Pankuchi-kun loves bread, so when he sees his two starchy buddies, his stomach growls!
Let’s get to know Pankuchi’s bread friends a bit. First is Shokupan-kun. This bourgeois bread was created at a handmade bakery at an upscale residential area. Though he acts superior, he admires Koppepan-kun’s lively personality. Pankuchi’s second bread buddy is Koppepan-kun, an energetic cutie that can become friends with anyone. He loves riding on the big fluffy Shokupan.
7. COUNTRY FRESH VEGGIES
This is probably one of Sanrio’s attempts at getting everyone to start eating vegetables. Country Fresh Veggies (カントリーフレッシュベジーズ) is a group of vegetables that came to life! They were picked fresh from the field and are now enjoying their country life filled with energy. One of the retro characters from Sanrio, these veggies were created way back in 1984. There isn’t much known about the Country Fresh Veggies besides the fact that these vegetables are having fun in the countryside.
8. OSAKETACHINONICHIJO
It might be hard to imagine a tall glass of beer as a part of the kawaii universe, but oddly enough, Osaketachinonichijo exists. A living glass of beer, Osaketachinonichijo (お助けたちの日常) used to be a popular member of the Sanrio roster. He used to be part of the lower ranks of the yearly Sanrio Character Ranking, nabbing the 87th spot in 2018. There isn’t that much information about Osaketachinonichijo now, but the character seems to have other alcohol-based friends like sake and beer can!
9. FRESH PUNCH
Fresh Punch is all about retro sweets and goodies like candy, tropical fruit juice, and gumballs. According to Sanrio, it’s is more of a design style than a character but somehow Fresh Punch occasionally makes its way to the yearly Sanrio Character Awards. It does well too, nabbing the top 30-50 spot in the annual character contest!
10. PARTY A LA CARTE
Sanrio loves reminding its kawaii followers to stay healthy! One of the ways to stay healthy is by having a complete meal like Party a la carte (パーティアラカルト ) . Another set of food-based cuties, Party a la carte includes fried eggs, snow peas, and octopus sausages. Meal-time is always fun for this yummy group of friends.
11. POP’NBERRY
The Pop’nberry trio might seem like colorful rabbits or mice, but they’re actually three fruit fairy elves named Berina, Banyan, and Melorina. Their group name “Pop'nberry,” actually means cheerful fruit! They might be a bit clumsy, but their adventures can cheer anyone up! The Pop’nberry fairies always give their all when they go exploring.
12. SHIRIRAPPER
An odd set of Sanrio cuties, the Shirirapper (シリラッパー) are “buttocks fairies” that seem to be a combination of animals and food. They’re a mishmash of peppers, peaches, potatoes, and birds. Each Shirarapper also looks like a butt! They’re a strange bunch!
Though there isn’t that much information about these odd little butt fairies, it seems like there are actually 27 different characters in the group. The lead character of the Shirirapper is Younashi Baby a chick-slash-pear with a magical hula-hoop. It likes doing the intestinal dance! Its friends are the other butt fairies Okame-san, Hamiketsu, Pimanjiri, and Densuke.
13. VEGGIE MENU
Sanrio’s illustration for Veggie Menu might be a rabbit, but according to the kawaii powerhouse, this character is a parade of fashionable vegetables. Maybe the rabbit’s the one that’s parading the veggies? One thing is for sure - you can’t eat the bunny. The carrot on the other hand, that seems like fair game.
Oishi! That was certainly a delicious food trip we’ve been on together with Sanrio. Who knew that the kawaii powerhouse had that many food-based cuties? From the popular egg Gudetama to the fragile flour fairy Cogimyun to the strange group of “butt fairies,” Shirirapper, Sanrio is certainly filled with creativity.
Who’s your favorite food-based character? Is it the tasty slice of salmon, Kirimichan? Or is it the tall glass of beer Osaketachinonichijo? Maybe it’s the half-dog half-mochi Kashiwankomochi? Let us know in the comment section below. We’re always happy to hear from you! If you'd like to learn about ALL the cuties that Sanrio has to offer, you can check our Complete List of Sanrio Characters.