Orion's 'Choco Pie' Captivates Global Tastes Through Localization

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] Orion announced on the 25th that Choco Pie, celebrating its 46th anniversary, is captivating overseas consumers' tastes with localized flavors in various countries, embarking on a second global leap.

In Korea, last November, Orion introduced the ‘Chal Choco Pie,’ which combines traditional desserts such as Injeolmi and black sesame rice cakes with Choco Pie. The revolutionary change not only in taste but also in texture attracted high consumer interest, surpassing 10 million cumulative sales within two months of launch. Some stores recorded sold-out legends, and currently, all products are shipped immediately upon production.

In Russia, Choco Pie with berry flavors familiar to local consumers has been well received. For Russians, it is common to make jam from berries grown in their ‘dacha’ (a countryside villa with a vegetable garden). Inspired by this dacha culture, Orion launched ‘Raspberry’ and ‘Cherry’ flavored Choco Pies in the second half of last year and expanded the lineup with ‘Blackcurrant’ flavor in January this year. Moving away from the original flavor focus, berry-flavored products have been added alongside ‘Choco Pie Dark’ and ‘Choco Chip Choco Pie,’ resulting in Choco Pie sales growing by more than 23% compared to the previous year, marking a second heyday.

In China and Vietnam, products tailored to local tastes have settled in, strengthening the Choco Pie brand power. In China, ‘Choco Pie Matcha’ was launched in 2016 to suit Chinese consumers who enjoy drinking tea, and in Vietnam, ‘Choco Pie Dark,’ filled with rich cocoa inside the bread, was introduced in 2017 to cater to local consumers' preference for intense chocolate flavor. Both products account for more than 10% of the brand’s total sales, contributing significantly to sales and market share growth.

The success of this Choco Pie localization strategy is the result of integrated global research and development (R&D) management. In 2017, to strengthen R&D capabilities and global product competitiveness, Orion’s Korean corporation became the headquarters and established a research planning team to initiate integrated global management. Through this, R&D know-how is shared by each corporation, and new products tailored to the characteristics of consumers in each country are continuously introduced, creating a new heyday for Choco Pie. Especially this year, with the launch of the Global Research Institute, the R&D headquarters function is being strengthened to enhance global product competitiveness and growth strategies.

An Orion official said, “Choco Pie, celebrating its 46th anniversary, is breathing new life into the brand by attempting various transformations from taste to texture in each country,” adding, “With the launch of the Global Research Institute this year, we will continue to develop differentiated products and embark on Choco Pie’s second global leap.”