Lotte Confectionery Launches Air-Baked Snack 'Air Baked'

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Sunghye] Lotte Confectionery challenged the existing snack market by launching a new concept snack, ‘Air Baked,’ on the 11th.

Air Baked is a snack brand baked with hot air in a specially designed oven without frying. It offers a light and clean taste without oiliness and features a crispy texture. Additionally, since it is not fried in oil, its fat content is more than 60% lower compared to regular snacks.

Air Baked emphasizes the original taste of non-fried snacks. According to the trend prediction system ‘Elsia,’ consumers tend to focus more on taste rather than simply seeking healthy concept products. Although the tendency to look for healthy products has increased, ultimately, consumers want food that is both delicious and healthy. To meet consumer demand, ‘Air Baked’ underwent about a year of development and over 1,000 tests.

Lotte Confectionery had already considered introducing baked chips several times over the past decade, but at that time, there were technical issues and a lack of confidence in the product. However, they did not give up and continued efforts, restarting redevelopment last year, and after about a year, they were able to produce a product they could confidently promote for its taste.

Air Baked plans to first launch two types and then expand the brand lineup by adding more products later.

The two types released this time are ‘Potato’ and ‘Popchip.’ ‘Air Baked Potato’ applies a ‘marinade method’ that enhances flavor by adding seasoning to the blended ingredients, maximizing the taste of the potato. ‘Air Baked Popchip’ is made by expanding rice, corn, chickpeas, peas, and purple sweet potatoes with heat and pressure. Since it is not fried in oil, the original flavor of the ingredients is more pronounced. Additionally, Camembert cheese is added to provide a savory and slightly salty flavor.

From the development stage of Air Baked, Lotte Confectionery adopted a big model advertising strategy. Since it is a new category product not available in the market, they aimed to quickly raise awareness by featuring a fitting big model. Accordingly, Lotte Confectionery selected Jennie of BLACKPINK, who is considered the trendiest star among women in their 20s and 30s, the main customer base of Air Baked, as the model. Lotte Confectionery plans various promotions including new advertisements and events with Jennie at the forefront.