Pepero

Pepero is a South Korean snack brand manufactured by Lotte Wellfood, formerly known as Lotte Confectionery. Its core product is a thin, crisp cookie stick dipped or coated in compound chocolate, with some variants adding nuts, cookie pieces, fillings, white confectionery coatings, or other flavor components. The brand has been produced in South Korea since 1983 and has developed from a single chocolate-coated snack into a broad product family sold domestically and exported to roughly 64 countries. The product occupies a distinctive position between biscuits, confectionery and snack foods. Its narrow stick shape makes it suitable for individual eating, sharing and gift exchange, while the coating gives the product a more indulgent profile than an ordinary biscuit. Major variants associated with the brand include the original chocolate flavor, almond, strawberry, choco-filled, white-and-cookie, peanut, crunchy, choco cookie, Crunky, Crunky Granola, Snowy Almond, Haenam green tea and Pepero Skinny. Availability varies by market; for example, strawberry has been identified as a South Korea-only flavor and peanut as a United States offering, while some regional products have been developed around local ingredients such as sweet potato or green tea. Pepero's most important commercial and cultural asset is Pepero Day, an annual promotional occasion held on November 11. The date is associated with the visual resemblance between four number-one digits and the brand's thin sticks. The occasion is commonly used for exchanging Pepero among friends, couples and family members, and it has become one of the largest seasonal sales moments in the South Korean confectionery calendar. According to the referenced material, approximately 60 percent of annual Pepero sales take place around Pepero Day, with daily sales during the occasion reported at about 84 times ordinary daily levels. The brand's marketing has therefore extended beyond conventional product advertising into seasonal retail, gift packaging, social media, live commerce and delivery-oriented campaigns. Lotte has also used product extensions to keep the brand visible outside the main snack-stick format. One example was a limited-time Pepero-bar ice cream, which applied the brand's chocolate-and-almond visual identity to a frozen dessert and used Pepero Friends characters on its packaging. During the COVID-19 period, the company adjusted Pepero Day promotion toward live broadcasts and delivery as consumer shopping patterns changed. Pepero has received recognition for sales performance, retail popularity and design, including Watsons awards in several Asian markets and German Red Dot and iF design awards. The brand has also been associated with charitable activity, including donations of Pepero to disadvantaged people and social organizations and contributions connected with local children's centers. The brand has faced sustained criticism and litigation concerning the similarity of its product format and packaging to Ezaki Glico's Pocky and related products. A U.S. dispute concerned three-dimensional trademarks and the appearance of the products, while a South Korean case involving Premier Pepero found that a box design had copied elements of Glico packaging. These disputes form an important part of Pepero's business history, although the basic stick-and-coating product format was treated as functional in the U.S. litigation described in the reference material. Pepero remains an active Lotte brand with a strong South Korean cultural identity, a wide export footprint and a product strategy based on flavor variation, seasonal gifting and design-led packaging.

Pepero was introduced by Lotte in South Korea in 1983 as a thin cookie stick covered in compound chocolate. The format placed the product at the intersection of biscuits and confectionery: the interior provided a crisp, flour-based stick, while the coating supplied the chocolate character associated with the brand. Over time, the basic product was expanded into multiple flavors and textures, including almond pieces, white confectionery coatings, cookie fragments, filled centers, crunchy inclusions and thinner sticks. The brand's development has been closely linked to November 11, known as Pepero Day. The date became associated with exchanging Pepero because the four numeral ones visually resemble the brand's slim sticks. The occasion is commonly explained through a story involving students in the Yeongnam region who exchanged the snack with wishes to become tall and slim, although the modern event has broadened into a nationwide commercial and social celebration. Consumers purchase or prepare Pepero as gifts for friends, partners and relatives, and retailers use special packaging and displays to capitalize on the occasion. Pepero Day became the central engine of the brand's seasonal business. The reference material states that around 60 percent of annual Pepero sales occur around the event and that sales on the day can be many times higher than ordinary daily sales. Lotte has consequently refreshed the event's advertising and merchandising each year. Its activity has included gift-oriented packaging, character branding, retail promotions, digital communication, live broadcasts and delivery services. The company also connected the period with charitable initiatives, including donations to people in need and social organizations and support associated with local children's centers. The product portfolio broadened substantially as Lotte introduced market-specific and limited offerings. Alongside original chocolate, the range has included almond, strawberry, choco-filled, plain cream cheese, white-and-cookie, peanut, green tea, crunchy, choco cookie, Crunky, Crunky Granola, Snowy Almond and Pepero Skinny. Product availability is not uniform: some variants have been identified for particular markets, while others have been proposed or introduced using regional ingredients and tastes. Lotte has also tested extensions beyond packaged biscuit sticks, including a limited-time Pepero-bar ice cream using the brand's recognizable coating concept and Pepero Friends packaging. International expansion made Pepero available in approximately 64 countries. The brand has been especially visible in Singapore, Malaysia, India and the Philippines, while exports to China, Russia and the United States have also been identified as commercially important. Its international positioning relies on a recognizable Korean confectionery identity, compact snack format, flavor variety and seasonal gifting associations. Retail awards in Asian markets and design awards in Germany reflected the brand's sales presence and packaging development. Pepero's history has also involved competition and legal controversy. Ezaki Glico's Pocky, introduced in Japan in 1966, has a similar thin-stick-and-coating format. Glico criticized Pepero as an imitation, while Lotte denied that it had been inspired by Pocky. Litigation in the United States concerned the product's appearance and three-dimensional trademark rights. The account cited in the reference material says the court concluded that Pocky's appearance could not be protected as trade dress because the relevant shape was functional, and Lotte prevailed on that issue. A separate South Korean case concerned the packaging of Premier Pepero. Glico sued in 2014, and the Seoul District Court ruled in 2015 that the box design had copied elements of Glico's Baton d'or packaging, with consequences for sales and remaining stock. Pepero remains an active Lotte Wellfood brand. Its current business model combines a stable core snack, frequent flavor and format extensions, international distribution, design-centered packaging and the exceptionally strong seasonal platform created by Pepero Day.

• 2020

  iF Design Award

  [1]Peperoen.wikipedia.org

  Pepero received recognition in Germany's iF Design Award.

• 2019

  Red Dot Design Award

  [1]Peperoen.wikipedia.org

  Pepero received recognition in Germany's Red Dot Design Award.

• 2016

  Reported supply-price sales milestone

  [1]Peperoen.wikipedia.org

  Referenced material reported cumulative Pepero sales of approximately 1.1 trillion won at supply prices by this year.

• 2015

  Watsons Korean Biscuit Award and packaging judgment

  [1]Peperoen.wikipedia.org

  Pepero received a Watsons Best Selling Korean Biscuit Award. In August, the Seoul District Court ruled against Lotte over the Premier Pepero box design.

• 2014

  Watsons Best Selling Biscuit Award and Premier Pepero dispute

  [1]Peperoen.wikipedia.org

  Pepero received a Watsons Best Selling Biscuit Award, while Glico filed a South Korean lawsuit concerning the packaging of Premier Pepero.

• 2012

  Watsons Best Selling Snack Award

  [1]Peperoen.wikipedia.org

  Pepero received a Watsons Best Selling Snack Award.

• 1983

  Pepero production begins

  [1]Peperoen.wikipedia.org

  Lotte began manufacturing Pepero in South Korea.

• 1966

  Pocky enters the market

  [1]Peperoen.wikipedia.org

  Ezaki Glico introduced Pocky, the product later identified as Pepero's principal format and packaging rival.

An accessible, shareable and giftable Korean confectionery brand centered on thin chocolate-coated cookie sticks, with seasonal Pepero Day marketing and frequent flavor and packaging innovation.

• Chocolate-coated biscuit stick · 1983

  Original Chocolate Pepero

  The core Pepero product is a thin, crisp cookie stick dipped in compound chocolate. It establishes the brand's defining combination of a dry biscuit center and sweet cocoa-based coating and serves as the reference point for the wider range.

• Nut-coated biscuit stick

  Almond Pepero

  Almond Pepero combines the chocolate-coated stick format with pieces of almond on the exterior. The added nut texture differentiates it from the original and makes it particularly suitable for premium-looking gift assortments.

• Filled biscuit stick

  Choco-filled Pepero

  Choco-filled Pepero reverses part of the original product emphasis by placing chocolate inside the cookie stick as well as using the brand's broader chocolate confectionery profile. It offers a different texture and chocolate delivery from the standard coated stick.

• White-coated biscuit stick

  White + Cookie Pepero

  This variant uses a white cream or confectionery coating finished with cookie pieces, creating a cookies-and-cream style flavor and appearance. Its contrasting color and topping support the brand's design-led seasonal packaging.

• Thin biscuit stick

  Pepero Skinny

  Pepero Skinny is a narrower version of the original chocolate Pepero. It retains the basic coated-stick concept while changing the proportions and eating experience.

• Ice cream extension

  Pepero-bar

  Pepero-bar was a limited-time ice cream extension that adapted the brand's chocolate-and-almond cues to a frozen dessert. Pepero Friends characters were used on the packaging to connect the new format with the established brand identity.

• 2015

  Premier Pepero packaging ruling

  The Seoul District Court found that the box design of Premier Pepero copied elements of Glico's Baton d'or packaging. The ruling was expected to lead to sales restrictions and disposal of existing stock.

  Source

• Pocky similarity criticism

  Pepero has been criticized for resembling Ezaki Glico's Pocky, which predates it and uses a comparable thin biscuit-stick format with a confectionery coating. Lotte denied that Pepero was inspired by Pocky.

  Source

Read more

• Pepero Day

  South Korea · international markets

  An annual November 11 campaign and gifting occasion built around the visual resemblance between the date's four ones and Pepero sticks. Lotte promotes the occasion through special packaging, retail activity, advertising, social communication and gift-oriented merchandising.

  Outcome. The occasion became Pepero's strongest seasonal sales platform; referenced material says approximately 60 percent of annual sales occur around the event.

  Source
• Pepero Day live broadcast and delivery promotion

  South Korea

  During the COVID-19 period, Lotte adapted Pepero Day activity to changing shopping behavior by using live broadcasts and delivery services.

  Outcome. The campaign maintained the seasonal platform while reducing reliance on conventional in-store purchasing.

  Source

• 2015

  Respond to U.S. trademark litigationOther

  Background

  Ezaki Glico alleged that Pepero infringed Pocky trademarks and referred to its earlier three-dimensional trademark registrations.

  Action taken

  Lotte USA defended the action brought in the U.S. District Court.

  Aftermath

  The referenced account states that the court treated the relevant Pocky appearance as functional and held that it could not be protected as trade dress on that basis.

  • Ezaki Glico — Glico filed the trademark infringement lawsuit.

  Source

• Build the brand around Pepero DayStrategy

  Background

  November 11 developed into a major exchange-and-gifting occasion associated with the product's stick shape.

  Action taken

  Lotte repeatedly refreshed advertising, special packaging, retail displays and promotional activity around the date.

  Aftermath

  Pepero Day became the brand's defining seasonal demand driver and a major part of its cultural identity.

  Share of annual Pepero sales occurring around Pepero Day. Approximately 60% (As reported in the reference material)

  Source

• Extend Pepero into ice creamProduct launch

  Background

  Lotte sought to apply the recognizable Pepero coating concept and character branding to a new consumption format.

  Action taken

  The company launched a limited-time Pepero-bar ice cream using almond-related visual cues and Pepero Friends packaging.

  Aftermath

  The launch demonstrated the brand's ability to move beyond packaged biscuit sticks, although the item was described as limited-time.

  Source

1. 1Peperoen.wikipedia.org