Prices of Ghana, Pepero, and World Cone to Rise... Lotte Wellfood Increases Prices by 9.5% with Geonbing

Price Increase for Geonbing and 26 Other Products Effective on the 17th
Impact of Rising Raw Material Costs Such as Cocoa and Exchange Rate Fluctuations

Lotte Wellfood announced on the 6th that it will raise the prices of some products by an average of 9.5% due to increases in raw material costs such as cocoa. The price increase will take effect on the 17th, and the affected products include confectionery and 26 other items.

Major confectionery products include ▲ Ghana Mild 70g (2,800 KRW → 3,400 KRW) ▲ Crunky 34g (1,400 KRW → 1,700 KRW) ▲ Choco Pepero 54g (1,800 KRW → 2,000 KRW) ▲ Mon Cher Original 12-pack (6,600 KRW → 7,000 KRW) ▲ LotSan Pineapple 315g (4,800 KRW → 5,000 KRW) ▲ Butter Coconut 300g (4,800 KRW → 5,000 KRW) ▲ Margarette Original 660g (13,200 KRW → 13,500 KRW). Major ice cream products include World Cone (1,200 KRW → 1,400 KRW) and Seollem (1,200 KRW → 1,400 KRW).

Lotte Wellfood's Pepero. Photo by Yongjun Cho jun21@

Lotte Wellfood explained, "This measure is due to the burden of costs exceeding a sustainable level as various raw material costs such as cocoa, which hit an all-time high, fats, and raw milk, as well as processing costs including logistics, labor, and electricity fees, continue to rise."

In fact, the price of cocoa (processed from cacao beans), the main ingredient of chocolate, has surged and has yet to stabilize. On December 20th, the cocoa futures price reached $12,565 per ton (ICE Futures Exchange), setting a new record high. Cocoa prices had been stable at around $2,000 per ton for decades, but have now increased by 5 to 6 times. Over the past year alone, the price rose by 172%, marking the highest increase among raw materials last year.

Additionally, the recent rise in the exchange rate has exacerbated difficulties. Since the domestic food industry heavily depends on imports for many raw materials, the increase in exchange rates directly adds to the cost burden. Lotte Wellfood is also experiencing increased raw material costs due to the high exchange rate. Despite efforts to diversify import sources and reduce internal costs to improve management efficiency, Lotte Wellfood expects the negative external environment to continue this year as well.