Lotte Wellfood's 'Pepero' Enters US Costco... "Strengthening US Market Strategy"

Expanding Consumer Touchpoints in the US Ahead of Pepero Day

Lotte Wellfood (formerly Lotte Confectionery) announced on the 24th that Pepero has been launched at Costco in the northeastern United States. This is the first time Pepero has been introduced to Costco in the U.S.

Since the 21st, Lotte Wellfood has been selling the 'Pepero Assort' product at Costco in the northeastern U.S. The Pepero Assort sold at Costco is a special package consisting of three types: Pepero Almond, Pepero White Cookie, and Pepero Crunky. After Pepero Assort was first introduced at Costco in Canada in March and received positive customer feedback, sales have expanded to Costco in the U.S. At Canadian Costco, Pepero has seen steady additional orders, recording cumulative sales of over 300,000 boxes in the past six months.

Additionally, ahead of Pepero Day, Lotte Wellfood is conducting joint marketing of a special package including four types?Pepero Original, Pepero Almond, Pepero White Cookie, and Pepero Crunky?on the snack subscription platform 'Try the World,' which has 10,000 monthly subscribers. This Pepero special package will be delivered to subscribers from the end of this month to early November, and an English leaflet explaining the origin of Pepero Day will be included.

Lotte Wellfood is already stocked in local U.S. retail chains such as Kroger, as well as Korean and Asian markets like H Mart and 99 Ranch. Starting with the northeastern Costco entry, Lotte Wellfood plans to expand Pepero’s presence to Costco locations in the southeastern and western regions. A Lotte Wellfood official stated, "It took a lot of time and effort for Pepero to enter U.S. Costco and Try the World," adding, "We will continue active marketing to make Pepero a beloved brand in the world’s largest consumer market, the U.S."

Meanwhile, Pepero is exported to about 50 countries including the U.S., Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, generating annual sales in the 200 billion KRW range. In the first half of this year, Pepero’s export sales reached approximately 32.5 billion KRW, growing about 30% compared to the same period last year, surpassing domestic sales for the first time. Starting in the second half of next year, Pepero’s first overseas production base, built with an investment of about 33 billion KRW at Lotte India’s Haryana factory, is scheduled to begin operations.

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