Turtle Chips expand to 5 continents with UAE, Africa debut

A visitor to a SPAR store in Cape Town, South Africa, picks up a bag of Turtle Chips earlier this month. Courtesy of Orion

Orion's popular snack Turtle Chips has secured shelf space in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, expanding its global footprint to five continents and 30 countries.

The major snack and confectionery company said Thursday that SPAR, a large retail distributor with a strong presence in key South African cities including Cape Town and Johannesburg, began selling Turtle Chips earlier this month. Three different flavors are available at SPAR’s 300 premium stores across the country.

Orion’s expansion into South Africa follows the Korean firm’s participation in the Africa Food Show, a global food exhibition held in Cape Town in June. Drawing strong attention at the event, Turtle Chips helped Orion secure a supply deal with SPAR, which operates 850 retail outlets nationwide. The exhibition also opened doors for the company to negotiate additional supply contracts with three other distributors in South Africa.

Orion said South Africa offers high market potential, as the country accounts for an average of 15 percent of the continent’s total gross domestic product. More than 60 percent of its 63.1 million people are aged 34 or younger, making it an attractive consumer market, according to the company.

The firm added that South Africa is also experiencing a surge in popularity for Korean cultural content, including K-pop and Korean food, prompting local consumers to seek out Korean products.

Orion has also signed a supply deal for Turtle Chips with Golden Star International, a Dubai-based retail distributor, exporting the product to cities in the UAE including Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The snacks are currently sold in non-halal markets across the country but will later expand into local halal outlets, the company said.

Launched in 2017, Turtle Chips have been driving global expansion for the seasoned confectionery firm, which was founded in 1956. Orion saw rapid overseas growth last year as it began shipping the snack to Costco warehouse stores in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Iceland. In September, French retail giant Carrefour imported Turtle Chips for sale across all 1,200 of its stores nationwide.

“Turtle Chips, beyond Asia, have now reached North America, Europe, Oceania and now Africa. South Africa will be an important cornerstone for building a ‘K-snack road’ that spans the globe,” an Orion official said.