[National Brand] Half a Century, 6.6 Billion Packs Sold of 'Gana Chocolate'

Lotte Wellfood First Launched in February 1975
Product Name Inspired by Main Ingredient Ghana Cocoa Beans
Preparing to Leap as a Premium Dessert Brand
Cumulative Sales of 1.3 Trillion Won... Sold 4 Units per Second

Gana Chocolate is an iconic product designed in the form of a rectangular bar. Lotte Wellfood (formerly Lotte Confectionery) decided in July 1974 to build a related factory in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul, and introduce production facilities targeting the chocolate market, which was the second largest in the confectionery industry after gum, with a scale of about 1.8 billion KRW at the time. In February of the following year, the chocolate factory was completed, and the company's first products, 'Gana Milk Chocolet' and 'Gana Mild Chocolet,' were introduced.

Ganamild Chocolate
Photo by Lotte Wellfood

The name Gana Chocolate originated from using cocoa beans sourced from Ghana, Africa, as the main ingredient. From the time of its launch, the microgrinding method was used to grind all ingredients into fine particles, making the texture of the chocolate smooth and enhancing its sweet aroma. Additionally, it was judged that the soft chocolate produced in Switzerland suited the taste of the Korean people well, so Max Brax, a world-renowned Swiss chocolate expert at the time, was invited for technical consultation.

In the early days of its launch, a marketing event called the 'Gana Chocolate Birth Celebration Festival' was held in Seoul, attracting over 5,000 people and achieving great success. As a result, the market share was raised to about 31% in the first year and expanded to 47% the following year. The flagship product, Gana Mild, was upgraded in packaging material, color, and logo design, gaining popularity as a gift for various occasions including Valentine's Day.

Gana Chocolate, which has established itself as the epitome of bar chocolate, is preparing for a second leap as a 'premium dessert' brand. Since 2021, it has been running a campaign called 'Gana, Becoming a Dessert.' In December last year, the higher-end brand 'Premium Gana,' which improved taste and quality, was launched. It is characterized by golden blending, where selected ingredients are combined in a golden ratio by professional chocolatiers to realize the deep and rich flavor of chocolate desserts. Specifically, there are products such as the bar-shaped 'Premium Gana Dark Milk Blend' with 49% cocoa content, the ball-shaped 'Premium Gana Macadamia' made with Australian macadamia nuts, and the high-end chocolate 'Premium Gana Saeng Chocolat,' known as raw chocolate or pav? chocolate.

Premium Ghana Product
Photo by Lotte Wellfood

In the spring of 2022, to transition into a dessert brand, a pop-up store called 'Gana Chocolate House' was operated in Seongsu-dong, Seoul. During the event period, many consumers visited to see the new concept of the Gana brand, and interest was so high that the number of people waiting reached up to 200, leading to an extension of the operation period from the original 3 weeks to about 40 days. In early last year, Gana Chocolate House Season 2 was operated in Jeonpo-dong, Busan, providing various experiential opportunities related to chocolate.

Thanks to such promotions, Gana Chocolate continues to receive steady love from consumers even as it approaches its 50th anniversary. The cumulative sales amount is estimated to have exceeded 1.3 trillion KRW as of last year. When converted into quantity, about 6.6 billion boxes have been sold, which means 4 pieces were sold every second since its launch. It is by far the number one domestic pure bar chocolate in sales.