Ditto, Snorlax and Charmander Star in Pokémon’s New Official SPAM Collab
Pokémon is teaming up with Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang for a new 30th anniversary collaboration that turns one of the country’s most familiar holiday gifts into something considerably more collectible.
The partnership brings Pokémon to a series of SPAM gift sets created for the upcoming Chuseok holiday, combining character-themed presentation boxes with stickers and limited merchandise.
For Pokémon fans based outside of South Korea, giving someone a box filled with SPAM for a major holiday may sound slightly unexpected, but canned ham gift sets have been a familiar part of celebrations including Chuseok and Seollal for decades.
SPAM became established in the country following the Korean War before CJ CheilJedang entered into a licensing agreement with Hormel Foods to manufacture it locally in 1987, eventually turning the product into both an everyday food and an extremely popular seasonal gift.
The connection with Korea’s major holidays remains remarkably strong, with CJ previously reporting that 58% of its Korean SPAM sales during 2024 came around Chuseok and Lunar New Year.
That history makes the new Pokémon version more than a novelty pairing, with CJ effectively giving a long-established Korean holiday tradition a character-focused makeover aimed at younger buyers and collectors.
Pokémon joins Kakao Friends as one of the major character properties incorporated into this year’s SPAM range, with CJ stating the use of characters and collectible extras is a way of adding more appeal beyond the food itself.
Three Pokémon “SPAM Tower” box sets based on Charmander, Snorlax and Ditto will be available for fans to order.
Each character receives its own presentation box containing five 200g cans of SPAM Classic, meaning anyone buying all three editions receives 15 cans in total.
Pokémon stickers are included with each individual box, and fans who purchase all three editions together will also receive one limited plush keychain at random, with two designs available featuring either Snorlax or Ditto holding SPAM and a bowl of rice.
Each Pokémon SPAM Tower is priced at ₩19,900 (approximately $15 USD / £11 GBP), while purchasing all three comes to ₩59,700 (approximately $45 USD / £33 GBP).
The collaboration has been created as part of Pokémon’s ongoing 30th anniversary celebrations, which have already resulted in an enormous range of food, fashion and merchandise projects throughout 2026.
South Korea has played its own part in those celebrations, with Seoul-based label Millo Archive recently creating an extensive Pokémon collection covering varsity jackets, hoodies, denim and accessories alongside lifestyle pieces including a Sleeping Snorlax rug.
Food collaborations have been particularly prominent throughout the anniversary year, with Pokémon recently returning to BOSS Coffee for another wave of collectible Pokédex cans and merchandise in Japan.
US fans have also been included in the celebrations through releases such as Krispy Kreme’s current Pokémon collection, which transformed Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Jigglypuff and a Poké Ball into specially decorated doughnuts.
The SPAM partnership takes the anniversary in a very different direction by connecting Pokémon with a food product that has a particularly strong cultural association with gift-giving in South Korea.
The Pokémon x SPAM collection will receive an initial launch through KakaoTalk Gift on September 9 before arriving through CJ The Market on September 11.
CJ has also confirmed E-Mart as one of the wider retail channels planned for its Pokémon collaboration, though dates and availability are yet to be confirmed.
If you enjoyed this article, you can see more from us directly in your Google feed by adding us as a preferred source.
This post may contain affiliate links, and Essential Japan may earn a commission if you purchase through them.
