Lotte Wellfood Co., formerly Lotte Confectionery Co., has revised up this year’s Choco Pie sales forecast in India to 80 billion won ($60 million) as it has commenced operations of its third factory to produce the popular chocolate-covered, marshmallow-filled round cake in the country.
The company announced on Tuesday that its new and third Choco Pie production facility is now up and running in Chennai, India after its Indian subsidiary Lotte India Co. completed the new factory’s construction, which cost 30 billion won.
Following the production line addition, Lotte Wellfood has upped its sales target of Lotte Choco Pie brand's products in India for 2023 by 20% from the previous sales target to 80 billion won.
The new facility is expected to ramp up the Korean confectionery company’s Choco Pie output by 1.5 times in the South Asian country, which will enable it to produce an additional 400 million packets of the snack per year.
Choco Pie is a chocolate-covered round cake filled with marshmallows, and is one of the best-selling snacks in India.
Lotte Choco Pie now commands about 80% of the Indian chocolate cake market, according to the company. Its sales in the country jumped to approximately 65 billion won in 2022 from about 50 billion won a year earlier.
Lotte Choco Pie ads in India (Courtesy of Lotte Wellfood) The Korean confectionery company entered the Indian snack market in 2004 after taking over local confectionery Parrys Confectionery to set up Lotte India.
Lotte Choco Pie hit the Indian market in 2006, and after it grew in popularity, the Korean company opened its first local Choco Pie manufacturing facility in Chennai in 2010 and added a second factory in Haryana in 2015.
But after the average utilization rate at both factories hit 104% on the growing popularity of Choco Pie last year, Lotte India decided to add a third production line for the snack.
To satisfy diverse local palates, the Korean confectionery company has also developed 100% vegetarian Choco Pie, as well as orange and strawberry jam-filled round cakes under its Choco Pie brand.
The snack market outlook in India, now the world’s most populous country, looks bright. The market was estimated at 17 trillion won as of 2021.
Global sales of Lotte Choco Pie products jumped to 190 billion won in 2022 from 160 billion won in 2021 and 140 billion won in 2020.
