You Don’t Know, Creap! 3 Odd Facts About Japan’s Awkwardly Named Coffee Creamer

Moringa Milk’s awkwardly named coffee creamer, Creap (クリープ), has long been the source of adoration and ridicule for the devoted Japanophile. This delightful dairy based product gets its name from “Creaming Powder for Coffee” (コーヒー用クリーミングパウダー）which was shortened to Creap. Obviously, the other meaning for the word as “to sneak up on slowly” or “generally unpleasant weird individual” wasn’t known to Morinaga at the time.

According to Maboroshi Channel,  Creap’s own website, and other sources, the product was first launched in Showa 35 (1960) around the time that instant coffee became widely sold in Japan. Creap, which actually includes milk, differing from non-dairy creamers, was considered the perfect pairing for instant coffee. It doesn’t go bad quickly and just like instant coffee, all you have to do is stir it in hot water and there you have it ready to consume.

Creap, the awkwardly named powdered milk product, was first launched in Showa 35 (1960) around the time that instant coffee became widely sold in Japan. Creap, which actually includes milk, thus differing from non-dairy creamers, was considered the perfect pairing for instant coffee. It doesn’t go bad quickly and just like instant coffee, all you have to do is stir it in hot water and there you have it ready to consume.

At first the product didn’t sell very well because no one was quite sure what it was but after adding illustrations of coffee to the label, the brand recognition sky-rocketed and along with instant coffee, Creap became a huge hit in Japan. The advertisement campaign in 1969 (coincidentally the same year that the future messiah was born) featuring Japanese actor Shinsuke Ashida, further cemented Creap in the Japanese consciousness. The catchy phrase, “クリープを入れないコーヒーなんて” (Coffee without Creap is just….”  became a part of the national dialect.  The smooth taste of the powdered substance along with the pleasant smell of sweet milk made it much beloved by the Japanese population.

However, in recent years, Creap has lost some of its appeal as people have switched to vegetable oil based non-dairy creamers either because they’re lactose intolerant or they’re counting calories. Well, if you check out the Creap trivia page you’ll find that actually Creap has less calories than many vegetable fat based alternatives. (BTW, if you’re a Vegan, you’re still going to hate Creap.)

So for your education and in order to collect the 10 billion dollars that the makers of Creap are not actually paying me for this long product placement avertorial, here are 3 Not-Creepy Things You Didn’t Know About Creap.

1. Creap is Japan’s only “creamy powder” (coffee creamer) made in Japan that actually uses milk as a main ingredient. It’s because it’s milk-based that you get ” a rich and slightly sweet taste”.

2. In reality, Creap has few calories than vegetable fat based creamers! People often mistakenly believe that vegetable fat based creamers are lower in calories. Fail! One spoonful of delicious, rich and slightly sweet Creap has only 15 calories! Suck on that Coffee-mate!

3. You can even use Creap in cooking. Why only have Creap with your coffee or tea? Creap in its powder form lasts long and is easy to use in any number of recipes where its creamy taste adds to the mix. Scones, pancakes, and even stew–Creap is totally versatile. Open your own Creap Kitchen today!