Lotte Group has selected Pepero, its popular chocolate-covered thin stick snack, as the first brand to elevate into one of the world’s top 10 food and beverage brands. Lotte Wellfood Co., the producer of Pepero, saw global sales of the snack reach 200 billion won in 2023, and the conglomerate now targets annual sales of over 1 trillion won ($747 million) by 2035.
Chairman Shin Dong-bin, during a recent strategic meeting in Warsaw, emphasized collaboration between Lotte’s Korean and Japanese operations to build sustainable global brands. Pepero is poised to expand further across Asia, with key growth markets including India and Southeast Asia, where the snack already enjoys popularity. Lotte Wellfood is also constructing a new Pepero production facility in India, set to open in 2024, to meet rising demand.
As part of its broader strategy, Lotte Wellfood aims to increase its overseas sales share to 30-50% by 2027. The company has been active in the global confectionery market, acquiring Belgian chocolate brand Guylian and Poland’s Wedel brand in past years. These efforts reflect Lotte’s ambition to strengthen its global presence while exploring new growth areas, including bio, hydrogen energy, and electric vehicle battery materials.
