International success in the new century
In the 1990s and 2000s, Lotte turned to the international market for further growth. The company had made its first international extension, other than in Korea, in the late 1970s. In 1978, Lotte set up a subsidiary in the United States, opening production facilities in Battle Creek, Michigan. The group's U.S. presence later expanded to include a sales office in Chicago, supporting sales of the group's chewing gums and cookies.
In the 1990s, Lotte turned to markets closer to home. The company established a subsidiary in Thailand in 1989, where it began producing and distributing candy and confectionery. In 1993, Lotte entered Indonesia, launching a subsidiary in Jakarta. This was followed by the creation of a joint venture for the mainland Chinese market, which established production facilities in Beijing in 1994. The company acquired full control of its Chinese operations in 2005. The Philippines became part of the Lotte empire in 1995, with the launch of a sales and distribution subsidiary in Manila. One year later, the company added production and sales operations in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, as well.
Continuing product development brought the company new successes as well. In 1996, the company launched its Chocolate Zero, claiming to be the world's first sugarless chocolate. The following year, Lotte became the first in Japan to launch a xylitol-based chewing gum. Because xylitol, unlike other sweeteners, did not produce acid when chewed, the company was able to promote its chewing gum as a cavity-fighting product. The company's interest in developing xylitol-based products continued into the 2000s, including the launch of the Xylitol Family Bottle, a beverage containing xylitol as a sweetener. In 2005, the company launched its Lotte Notime tooth-polishing chewing gum.
Lotte expanded its frozen dessert operations in 2002, forming a joint venture with troubled Snow Brand Milk Products, then involved in a beef-labelling scandal. The joint venture, Lotte Snow Co., was owned at 80 percent by Lotte, and launched production of Snow-branded ice cream products. In 2005, the company expanded its operations in China, buying up control of Qingdao-based Jinhu Shipin. That move was seen as part of the group's strategy to become a major confectionery group on a global scale. Lotte remained controlled by Shin Kyuk-ho, joined by his children and other family members. In less than 60 years, Shin had built Lotte from a small chewing gum producer into one of the world's top confectionery groups.[6]
On October 12, 2017, Lotte Confectionery announced that the company had been spun-off in order to form Lotte Corporation as the holding company.
