Snacks, candy and pantry
Is Hello Panda halal?
Hello Panda sold in the US is made in California and carries no halal claim, though its ingredient list shows no gelatin. The Singapore-made version is labeled halal-certified.
The longer answer
Meiji America's FAQ (checked October 2026) says Hello Panda and Yan Yan "are made in California" and that "all products made in the US are kosher certified." It does not mention halal.
The ingredient panel on Meiji America's Hello Panda Chocolate page lists enriched flour, sugar, vegetable oil (palm, palm kernel and soybean), chocolate, milk, caramel color, emulsifiers (sorbitan tristearate, sucrose esters of fatty acids, soy lecithin), leavening, malt syrup, natural flavors, salt, a seasoning that includes Greek yogurt powder, and yeast extract. No gelatin or animal fat is listed. The source of the emulsifiers and natural flavors is not stated.
Meiji's Singapore website marks each Hello Panda variety it sells as "Halal-certified". That is a different factory and market, and it does not apply to the US-made product. We found no halal certification for US Hello Panda.
What to check before you order
Check the country of origin on the box. A US-made pack has no halal mark. An imported pack may show a halal logo from its home market, so look for it on that specific pack.
How we decide
We only report what the company or its certifier has said publicly, and we link to it below. We do not test food, and we do not take a brand’s word from a single franchise. If a location tells you something different from this page, trust the location and tell us.