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Lotte doubles down on India's Choco Pie boom with new production line
Choco Pies roll off the line at Lotte India’s Rohtak manufacturing facility in Haryana, India. Courtesy of Lotte Wellfood
By Lee Kyung-min
Lotte Wellfood is expanding production of its best-selling Choco Pie in India after the snack surpassed annual sales of 100 billion won ($68 million) there, underscoring the country's growing importance to the Korean food maker.
The company said Monday that LOTTE India has begun full-scale operations of a fourth Choco Pie production line at its plant in Rohtak, Haryana.
The additional line is intended to strengthen the brand's market position following record sales in India last year.
Construction of the new production line began in May 2024 with an investment of about 30 billion won.
The company said the line completed a stabilization period in June before entering full commercial operation.
The expansion increases LOTTE India's annual Choco Pie production capacity by about 33 percent.
Lotte Wellfood said higher production will support projected sales growth of more than 20 percent for Choco Pie in India this year.
The company said Choco Pie holds more than 70 percent of India's Choco Pie market.
Annual sales of the product exceeded 100 billion won for the first time last year.
The company noted that the brand has recorded average annual sales growth of about 20 percent over the past three years.
Lotte Wellfood said continued investment in manufacturing infrastructure has helped it keep pace with rising consumer demand.
The company previously expanded production capacity by adding a third Choco Pie line at its Chennai plant in the state of Tamil Nadu in 2023.
LOTTE India also marked the first anniversary of the integration of its confectionery and ice cream businesses.
The company said first-half sales rose about 28 percent from a year earlier.
Lotte Wellfood said it will continue integrating distribution networks across southern, northern and western India while improving logistics and manufacturing efficiency.
The strategy is aimed at strengthening profitability and achieving annual sales of 1 trillion won by 2032 under its "ONE INDIA" initiative, according to the company.
A Lotte Wellfood official said the new production line will enable the company to respond more effectively to growing local demand and support its ambition to lead India's confectionery and ice cream market.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.