Orion's Russian Subsidiary Achieves Record Annual Sales Exceeding 100 Billion Won for the First Time

Achieved annual cumulative sales of 105 billion KRW by November this year
Double-digit growth every year since 2019 due to Choco Pie popularity

A customer is selecting products at a supermarket located in Russia.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-sun] Orion's Russian subsidiary has surpassed 100 billion KRW in annual sales for the first time in history.

On the 16th, Orion announced that its cumulative annual sales based on simple aggregation reached 105 billion KRW by November, a 29.6% increase compared to the same period last year, achieving the highest sales ever.

Orion began its full-scale entry into the 22 trillion KRW Russian confectionery market by establishing a factory in Tver in 2006. In the first year of operation, it recorded sales of 16.9 billion KRW, and from 2008, it completed a second factory in the Novo region, expanding Choco Pie production capacity. Since 2019, it has maintained double-digit high growth rates every year, becoming a central pillar leading the global growth of the Orion Group alongside its subsidiaries in China and Vietnam. In the first half of this year, it achieved cumulative sales of 1 trillion KRW.

The aggressive development of new products aligned with changes in local consumer trends is cited as the background for this growth. Currently, Orion's Russian subsidiary produces and sells the largest variety of 11 types of Choco Pie. Since its initial entry, Choco Pie has blended with the Russian food culture of enjoying tea with cake, establishing itself as the "national pie." Since 2019, moving away from the original flavor, Orion has consecutively launched differentiated products using "jam" flavors familiar to local consumers, such as "Cherry," "Raspberry," "Blackcurrant," and "Mango" Choco Pies, laying the foundation for high growth. Expanding the biscuit lineup beyond the existing "Choco Song-i" to include "Gosomi," "Moist Choco Chip," and "Crack-it" also contributed significantly.

Orion is set to complete a new factory in Kriptsova, Tver Oblast, Russia, in 2022. Local demand has explosively increased to the point that the production capacity of the two currently operating factories is saturated, raising high expectations for future sales growth. Once the new factory is operational, the supply of Choco Pie will expand to over 1 billion units annually, and Orion plans to actively target not only Russia but also Central Asia and Eastern European markets by introducing various new products such as pies and biscuits.

An Orion official stated, "Our unique product development capabilities and multi-product strategy tailored to Russian local culture have been effective," adding, "In 2022, we will fully operate the new factory and actively pioneer new markets to embark on a second leap forward."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.