Lotte Choco Pie Strengthens Local Marketing Ahead of India's Biggest Festival 'Diwali'

Lotte Choco Pie New Advertisement in India. (Photo by Advertisement Screen Capture)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Lotte Confectionery will launch a new advertising campaign for its flagship product, Choco Pie, starting October 1st, ahead of Diwali, India's biggest festival.

Diwali is India's largest festival, celebrated over five days centered around the day when the waxing crescent moon appears in the eighth month of the Hindu calendar. During this time, people light lamps in their homes and temples and offer prayers of gratitude. This year, the festival will be observed from November 4th to 8th.

The new advertising slogan is "India's Pause Button," which modifies the previous slogan "Life's Pause Button," used since 2010, by replacing "Life" with "India." This change emphasizes the authenticity of Choco Pie as India's representative pie. The advertisement features people of various ages and genders, expressing the happiest moments in life they want to pause, accompanied by Choco Pie, creating a joyful atmosphere around the product.

Recently, Lotte Confectionery redefined the design manual for Choco Pie, which is sold in over 50 countries, and standardized the packaging design. Moving forward, Lotte Confectionery has established an overseas sales strategy to promote marketing in each country based on a unified concept under the global Choco Pie slogan "Happy Moments."

In overseas markets, Lotte Choco Pie recorded sales of 90 billion KRW in 2018, 102 billion KRW in 2019, and 113 billion KRW in 2020, maintaining a steep double-digit growth rate each year. Starting with the Indian market, one of the key bases for overseas Choco Pie expansion, Lotte Confectionery plans to air advertisements in Russia and Pakistan by the end of the year and aims to develop Choco Pie into a global mega brand through more aggressive marketing strategies.

Meanwhile, Lotte India currently operates two Choco Pie factories in Chennai and Haryana, India, with annual sales of approximately 40 billion KRW. Lotte Choco Pie boasts an overwhelming market share exceeding 90% in India.