Lotte Wellfood said on the 29th that it extended its contract with idol group Stray Kids, the global ambassador for its flagship product Pepero. It appears to be a strategy to strengthen global marketing by rehiring Stray Kids as the brand model.
According to Lotte Wellfood, Pepero's exports last year, when Stray Kids was selected as the model, were about 87 billion won, up about 25% from the previous year's 70 billion won. Compared with 2020, when global marketing began in earnest, the figure is roughly triple.
Sales in North America, including the United States and Canada, increased about 36% from a year earlier. Earlier last year, Lotte Wellfood ran extra-large outdoor ads in places such as Times Square in New York and downtown Los Angeles, and held on-site experience events timed to Pepero Day on Nov. 11.
In particular, cumulative views of the Pepero campaign video featuring Stray Kids last year reached about 160 million, up 440% from a year earlier. In Peru, social media (SNS) engagement with related content increased 26 times compared with general content.
As Stray Kids recorded high buzz worldwide, Lotte Wellfood decided to continue the partnership to strengthen Pepero's global competitiveness. This is in the same vein as Lotte Wellfood's mid- to long-term growth strategy. By 2035, it aims to foster Pepero as the No. 1 brand in Asia and achieve 1 trillion won in global sales.
This year, Lotte Wellfood plans to step up its push into the Americas and Southeast Asia markets with Stray Kids, while accelerating efforts to tap emerging markets such as India, Europe and China.
A Lotte Wellfood official said, "Stray Kids' unrivaled global influence played a key role in establishing Pepero as a world-class brand," and added, "This year, we will make Pepero a symbol of 'K culture' with differentiated marketing in various regions."