Global sales of Orion’s signature snack Choco Pie reached 500 billion won ($417 million) in 2021, logging an 8.8 percent growth year-on-year, according to the Korean confectionery maker on Wednesday.

This means around 3,400 million individual packets of Choco Pie were sold worldwide, which would cover more than five laps around the Earth when lined up, said the company.

Choco Pie’s success overseas is thanks to the company’s efforts to tailor the product to suit each specific market. As a result, the local snack staple was able to tap into countries as diverse as China, Vietnam, Russia and India.

In China alone, the company posted yearly sales of 200 billion won last year, seeing notable success with the Sticky Rice editions and the banana-flavored chocolate cakes. In Vietnam, sales reached 100 billion won in just 16 years after the company started local production. Limited editions like peach- and yogurt-flavored ones attracted young consumers.

Russia is another notable market, where sales grew by 33 percent year over year. The company attributes its success to the sheer variety of the cake‘s flavors, notably crediting those with jam fillings that fit into the local tea culture.

“By adapting our original product to the local tastes of each foreign market, we were able to usher Choco Pie back to its heyday, this time on a global scale.” said an Orion official. He added, “We look to carry on our legacy as a global brand by further developing products unique to Orion and carving out new markets.”

Today, 26 different editions of Choco Pie are produced to target the distinct consumer tastes of some 60 countries. 

by Ahn Ju-hee (dianahn@heraldcorp.com)