Crown Renamed 'Koncho·Konchi' Based on Children's Love
Orion Changes Product Names to 'Sun of Taste Sun·Digest' After Contract Expiration
There are products that continue their competitiveness with familiar yet changed names. Depending on the main consumer base, names are sometimes changed to be easier to call, and in some cases, names are inevitably changed to better ones due to contract expiration.
According to the food industry on the 15th, Crown Confectionery changed the product names of its 2008 corn snack series 'Con Choco' and 'Con Cheese' to 'Concho' and 'Conchi', respectively.
The reason for changing the product names of Con Choco and Con Cheese, launched in 1985, was an internal opinion that, as imitation products increased at the time, it was necessary to expand popularity through easier-to-call names and strengthen the unique brand. Noticing that the main customers, children, often shortened the names to Concho and Conchi, the product names were decisively changed to Concho and Conchi.
The year after the name change, in 2009, sales recorded double-digit growth compared to the previous year, and the product's performance soared after the name change. A Crown Confectionery official explained, "Consumers responded well to the easy-to-call names, and since the brand name change, it has grown into a steady seller with annual sales exceeding 15 billion KRW every year," adding, "It differentiates itself from numerous imitation products and maintains high popularity and annual sales to this day."
Lotte Wellfood's 'Lotsan' is also a case of actively adopting the abbreviated expressions of young consumers. 'Lotte Sand,' Lotte Wellfood's longest-running snack brand launched in 1978, changed its product name to Lotsan in 2019 to apply a sophisticated image suitable for the times and to strengthen brand competitiveness by expanding demand among young consumers.
Before Lotsan, another long-standing brand of Lotte Wellfood, the fresh cream cake 'Mon Cher,' changed its name due to opinions that the word attached to the product name could give a negative image. Mon Cher was introduced in 1991 under the name 'Mon Cher Tonton,' which means 'my (mon) beloved (cher) uncle (tonton)' in French. It was named to emphasize friendliness. However, as some consumers pointed out that the word 'Tonton' could cause discomfort, the name was changed to the current one.
There are also cases where names were changed due to the expiration of joint venture contracts. Orion's 'Taste of the Sun Sun' is a representative example. Taste of the Sun Sun is a grain snack that Orion started making in cooperation with the US company Frito-Lay in 1993. After the contract was terminated in 2004, the product name was changed from the original 'SunChips' to the current name and has been sold under it since. Orion's 'Digestive' was also launched in 1982 as 'Digestive' and sold under that name until the contract period with the UK company McVitie's expired, leading to a name change in 1998.
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