BERKELEY — Berkeley-based chocolate maker TCHO will be bought by a Japanese food company.

The buyer, Ezaki Glico, is based in Osaka and has been around for almost 100 years, selling products like Glico caramel and Pocky, among other foods.

The Japanese company announced in a statement on its website a “final agreement to acquire” TCHO, a chocolate maker that has made a name for itself in the Bay Area selling premium, high-end chocolate.

Started in 2005 and formerly based on the San Francisco waterfront, TCHO moved to a larger location on San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley in 2014, where it gives factory tours that give a glimpse at its chocolate-making process and insight to how it partners with cacao farmers to source beans.

Started by former NASA space shuttle contractor Timothy Childs and chocolate industry veteran Karl Bittong, TCHO’s approach to high-end chocolate — which eventually included innovations like a “flavor wheel” to map chocolate flavors such as “nutty” or “floral” — drew support from investors, including Wired Magazine founders Louis Rossetto and Jane Metcalfe.

According to a spokeswoman for TCHO, the chocolate maker will still be based in Berkeley and continue its factory tours and partnerships with retailers such as Whole Foods. She did not disclose financial terms of the deal but said the purchase was on track to be finalized in the next week or so.

“Today’s agreement brings together two companies that share a core philosophy of quality products and social values,” said Marcel Bens, CEO for TCHO, in a news release. “TCHO has a unique approach to sourcing, flavor and packaging – we work with farmers and cooperatives to help them produce better cocoa which is designed to benefit them and helps us make exceptionally delicious chocolate. Ezaki Glico is a company that understands, appreciates and will continue to support that business model. We couldn’t be more pleased to be joining their family.”

Since 2013, TCHO was majority-owned by Emil Capital Partners, a venture capital firm backed by European retail group Tengelmann.

The statement posted on Ezaki Glico’s website described TCHO as “a premium craft chocolate company known for its superior quality chocolate” and said it has earned a “strong brand recognition in the U.S. market and particularly amongst millennials, the generation with the highest purchase intent.”

Citing research that suggests the overall market in premium chocolate is expecting “strong” growth, the Japanese company said that by buying TCHO, “Ezaki Glico aims to enhance its chocolate business.”