"Nice to See After 8 Years"... Companies 'Respond' to SNS Carrying Newtro Sentiment

Lotte Wellfood Relaunches 'Lip Pie' After 8 Years
Market Feasibility Reviewed Following Requests from Customer Center and Others

In the confectionery industry, a trend is continuing where discontinued products reappear due to persistent consumer requests. Consumers summon nostalgic products through social networking services (SNS) and customer centers, and companies respond by paying attention to these voices, resulting in communication outcomes. This trend is expected to repeat in line with the 'Newtro' craze, which enjoys retro in a new way.

Lip Pie Choco, a relaunch of the Lip Pie discontinued in 2015, improved [Photo by Lotte Wellfood]

According to the related industry on the 24th, Lotte Wellfood (formerly Lotte Confectionery) re-released ‘Lip Pie Choco’ as a successor to Lip Pie, which was discontinued in 2015, after 8 years. Consumers who used to enjoy Lip Pie continuously requested the company through its homepage and SNS to produce the product again, and Lotte Wellfood responded by launching a new chocolate product based on the existing one.

In 2021, reflecting customer requests in the ice cream product line, ‘Joannaba’ and ‘Seolleim Cookie & Cream’ were re-released respectively after being discontinued for 6 years, and Lotte Food also brought back ‘Byeolnanba,’ which allows you to eat ice cream, chocolate, and candy all at once, to the market in 2019. It was 8 years since it was discontinued in 2011.

Other manufacturers also reintroduced nostalgic products and received positive responses. A representative example is Orion’s ‘Taeyang-ui Mat Sun’ launched in 2018. This product stopped production after a fire occurred on the production line in 2016 but was revived due to consumer requests, selling over 100 million units in about 3 years and gaining popularity. Orion reintroduced not only Sun but also nostalgic products such as ‘Chicken Pop,’ ‘Bae Bae,’ and ‘Wacle’ by reflecting customer opinions.

The confectionery industry continuously monitors consumer opinions conveyed through customer centers, SNS channels, and portal sites. The task of reviewing whether to re-release products also starts here. An industry insider said, "As channels where customers can submit real-time requests increase, they summon or express longing for products they liked," adding, "We refer to these opinions when upgrading and re-releasing products."