Lotte Wellfood
A South Korean Lotte Group food company producing confectionery, ice cream, snacks, and health-oriented food products.
Last updated October 16, 2026
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Overview
Lotte Wellfood is a South Korean food company headquartered in Seoul and a member of the Lotte Group. The business was established in 1967 as Lotte Confectionery, when Lotte expanded its Japanese confectionery operations into South Korea. Its product portfolio has historically centered on chewing gum, candy, chocolate, biscuits, snack cakes, and frozen desserts, with later activity in health supplements and related food categories. The company is particularly associated with widely distributed brands such as Ghana chocolate, Xylitol gum, Pepero, Koala's March, Crunky, Chic-Choc, and a range of Korean ice creams. The company is part of a wider Lotte business history that began in postwar Japan. Shin Kyuk-ho, a Korean-born entrepreneur who had moved to Japan, established Lotte Co. in 1948 after initially operating a small chemical-products business. Lotte first built its consumer reputation through chewing gum, using advertising, television sponsorship, and distinctive packaging to create mass-market recognition. It later expanded into candy, cookies, snack cakes, and chocolate. The 1964 introduction of Ghana milk chocolate was an important turning point in Lotte's Japanese confectionery development, while the establishment of a dedicated South Korean operation in 1967 made confectionery a core part of the emerging Lotte business group. Lotte Wellfood expanded internationally from the late twentieth century onward. It established operations or subsidiaries in the United States, Thailand, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, and Vietnam, and later developed a broader manufacturing footprint that included countries such as Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Belgium, India, Russia, and Myanmar. Its products have also reached international consumers through Asian supermarkets and markets with Japanese or Korean communities. The company has used product adaptation, local production, acquisitions, and joint ventures to support this expansion. Innovation has focused on both indulgence and functional benefits. Lotte developed sugar-free chocolate, xylitol-based gum marketed around oral-care benefits, seasonal and flavor-specific confectionery, and a health-supplement line known as Health 1. Its frozen-dessert business has been an important part of the South Korean market, covering bars, cones, cups, pencil-shaped products, and larger packaged formats. The company's corporate structure changed several times as Lotte Group reorganized its businesses. In 2017, Lotte Confectionery was spun off in connection with the formation of Lotte Corporation as the group's holding company. In 2022, Lotte Confectionery and Lotte Food combined their food interests, including overlapping ice-cream activities. The merger was completed on July 1, 2022. Following the integration, Lotte Confectionery was renamed Lotte Wellfood in 2023, reflecting a broader food identity rather than a focus limited to confectionery. The renamed company remains an active Lotte Group food business with operations spanning confectionery, frozen desserts, snacks, and selected health-oriented products.
History
Lotte Wellfood's history is rooted in the postwar development of Lotte in Japan and the later expansion of the group into South Korea. Shin Kyuk-ho, a Korean native who moved to Tokyo in 1941, initially established a small business using surplus chemical materials after the Second World War. In 1948, he founded Lotte Co. with a focus on chewing gum. Gum was a rapidly growing consumer category in postwar Japan, and Lotte built recognition through products such as Orange Gum, Lotte Gum, Cowboy Gum, Mable Gum, and Baseball Gum. The company was also an early and prominent user of television sponsorship and event marketing, helping turn its packaging and advertising into important parts of the brand experience. Lotte broadened its range during the 1950s and 1960s, adding candies, cookies, snack cakes, and chocolate. Its Cool Mint Gum, introduced in 1956 after development associated with an Antarctic research training program, became linked with a penguin logo that was widely recognized in Japan. The launch of Ghana milk chocolate in 1964 was another major step. Lotte adapted a Swiss-style chocolate concept to local tastes and supported it with extensive television advertising, helping establish chocolate as a central part of its Japanese business. Although Japan remained an important base, Shin Kyuk-ho maintained connections with Korea. Lotte had begun supplying the Korean market before the formal creation of its South Korean confectionery company. In 1967, following the normalization of Japan-South Korea relations, Lotte established Lotte Confectionery as a dedicated Korean operation. This company became one of the principal food businesses in the developing Lotte Group. Its early portfolio included chewing gum and other confectionery products, and it subsequently became a major participant in South Korea's snack, chocolate, and ice-cream markets. Internationalization accelerated from the late 1970s through the 2000s. Lotte established a United States subsidiary and production presence, entered Thailand in 1989, created operations in Indonesia in 1993, and developed a Chinese joint venture with production in Beijing in 1994. It added the Philippines in 1995 and Vietnam in 1996. In China, Lotte later obtained full control of its operations and acquired Qingdao-based Jinhu Shipin in 2005. The company also expanded through product and category development, including Chocolate Zero in 1996, xylitol chewing gum in 1997, and other oral-care-oriented gum products. A joint venture with Snow Brand Milk Products in 2002 supported expansion in frozen desserts, while Lotte acquired Belgian chocolate maker Guylian in 2008. The portfolio grew beyond traditional confectionery. Its products came to include biscuits such as Koala's March and Chic-Choc, snack cakes such as Margaret, chocolate products including Crunky, and Pepero snack sticks. Ice cream became a major Korean business, with products sold in bar, cone, cup, pencil, and bucket formats. The Health 1 line extended the company's activity into vitamins, minerals, red-ginseng extracts, granules, and other plant- and animal-derived supplements. Corporate restructuring shaped the company's more recent identity. In 2017, Lotte Confectionery was spun off in connection with the formation of Lotte Corporation. Until 2022, Lotte Food also operated in overlapping categories, especially ice cream. Lotte Group therefore moved to combine the two food businesses, with the merger completed on July 1, 2022. The resulting business was renamed Lotte Wellfood in 2023. The new name signaled a broader food company encompassing confectionery, snacks, frozen desserts, and health-related products while retaining the Lotte brand heritage.
- 2023
Company renamed Lotte Wellfood
[1]The post-merger company adopted the Lotte Wellfood name.
- 2022
Merger with Lotte Food completed
[1]Lotte Confectionery and Lotte Food completed their merger, integrating overlapping food and ice-cream activities.
- 2017
Corporate spin-off completed
[1]Lotte Confectionery was spun off as part of the reorganization that created Lotte Corporation as a holding company.
- 2008
Guylian acquired
[1]Lotte acquired Belgian chocolate company Guylian, strengthening its international chocolate portfolio.
- 2005
Chinese operations expanded
[1]Lotte expanded in China, including the acquisition of control of Qingdao-based Jinhu Shipin.
- 2002
Frozen-dessert joint venture formed
[1]Lotte formed Lotte Snow with Snow Brand Milk Products, expanding its ice-cream activities.
- 1997
Xylitol gum launched in Japan
[1]Lotte became an early Japanese marketer of xylitol-based chewing gum, emphasizing its oral-care positioning.
- 1996
Chocolate Zero introduced
[1]Lotte introduced Chocolate Zero, described in reference material as a sugarless chocolate product.
- 1994
Chinese production joint venture established
[1]Lotte created a joint venture for mainland China and established production facilities in Beijing.
- 1989
Thailand operation established
[1]Lotte entered Thailand through a subsidiary producing and distributing confectionery.
Products and positioning
A mass-market Asian food and confectionery company combining established Lotte snack brands with ice cream, international production, and selected health-oriented products.
Confectionery · 1948
Chewing gum
Chewing gum is the historical foundation of the Lotte confectionery business. The range has included long-running products such as Juicy Fresh, Spearmint, Freshmint, Cool Mint Gum, and Xylitol gum. Product development has combined flavor variety with functional positioning, particularly the use of xylitol in products promoted around reduced acid formation and oral-care benefits.
Chocolate · 1964
Ghana chocolate
Ghana is one of Lotte's signature chocolate lines. Introduced in 1964, it helped the company move beyond gum and establish a major chocolate business. The line was supported by extensive advertising and has remained part of Lotte's long-running confectionery portfolio in Japan and other markets.
Snack confectionery
Pepero
Pepero is a chocolate-coated snack-stick brand associated with Lotte's South Korean confectionery portfolio. It belongs to the company's broader range of packaged snack products and extends the business beyond traditional bars, tablets, and boxed chocolates.
Biscuits
Koala's March
Koala's March consists of small cream-filled biscuits shaped and decorated around koala characters. Its distinctive form and hexagonal packaging give it a strong visual identity and have helped it travel across international Asian-snack markets.
Chocolate snack
Crunky
Crunky is a chocolate snack-bar line within the Lotte portfolio. It has been offered in multiple flavors, including seasonal variants in Japan, and represents the company's use of texture and flavor variation in the chocolate category.
Cookies
Chic-Choc
Chic-Choc is a chocolate-chip cookie brand associated with Lotte's South Korean snack business. It sits alongside other baked snack products and illustrates the company's expansion from sugar confectionery into packaged biscuits and cookies.
Snack cakes and cookies
Margaret
Margaret is part of Lotte's baked-snack range. The product line complements the company's chocolate, gum, and candy offerings with a packaged cookie or snack-cake format intended for everyday consumption.
Frozen desserts
Ice cream
Lotte Wellfood's frozen-dessert business covers a broad set of Korean ice-cream formats, including bars, cones, cups, pencil-shaped products, and bucket-sized packages. The category became more integrated after the 2022 merger with Lotte Food, which had operated overlapping ice-cream activities.
Health supplements
Health 1
Health 1 is a supplement line introduced by the company to extend its food portfolio into vitamins, minerals, granules, red-ginseng extracts, and other plant- and animal-derived ingredients. It represents Lotte Wellfood's move toward health-oriented consumer products.
Premium chocolate · 2008
Guylian
Guylian is a Belgian chocolate business acquired by Lotte in 2008. Its inclusion in the group broadened Lotte's international chocolate presence and added a premium European chocolate identity to the wider portfolio.
Marketing campaigns
- 1964Ghana chocolate television advertising
Japan
The launch of Ghana chocolate was supported by an extensive television advertising campaign designed to establish the product in the Japanese chocolate market. The campaign helped make Ghana a long-running Lotte chocolate brand.
Outcome. The campaign helped make Ghana a long-running Lotte chocolate brand.
- 1956Cool Mint Gum Antarctic association
Japan
Lotte developed gum connected with training for an Antarctic research expedition and subsequently introduced it to consumers as Cool Mint Gum, using penguin imagery as a prominent visual association. The penguin became a durable and recognizable Lotte consumer symbol.
Outcome. The penguin became a durable and recognizable Lotte consumer symbol.
- 1948Television and event sponsorship
Japan
Lotte supported confectionery distribution with sponsorship of television programs, music programming, sporting activities, and other public events. The approach helped the young gum producer build broad consumer recognition.
Outcome. The approach helped the young gum producer build broad consumer recognition.
Brand decisions
2023
Adoption of the Lotte Wellfood nameStrategyBackground
Following the merger with Lotte Food, the former Lotte Confectionery business represented a broader food portfolio.
Action taken
The company changed its name to Lotte Wellfood.
Aftermath
The new identity broadened the company's positioning beyond confectionery while retaining its Lotte heritage.
2022
Merger with Lotte FoodM&ABackground
Lotte Confectionery and Lotte Food had overlapping food activities, including ice cream, creating internal competition within the group.
Action taken
The companies pursued a merger that was approved by shareholders and completed on July 1, 2022.
Aftermath
The combination unified important Lotte food interests and prepared the business for its subsequent Lotte Wellfood identity.
2017
Spin-off connected with Lotte CorporationStrategyBackground
Lotte Group reorganized its corporate structure and created Lotte Corporation as a holding company.
Action taken
Lotte Confectionery was spun off as part of the restructuring.
Aftermath
The business continued as a distinct Lotte food and confectionery company within the reorganized group.
2008
Acquisition of GuylianM&ABackground
Lotte was expanding its international confectionery and chocolate footprint.
Action taken
Lotte acquired Belgian chocolate company Guylian.
Aftermath
The acquisition added a Belgian premium-chocolate business to Lotte's international portfolio.
1997
Launch of xylitol chewing gumProduct launchBackground
Lotte sought to distinguish gum through a sweetener associated with lower acid production than conventional sugar-based sweeteners.
Action taken
The company introduced xylitol-based chewing gum in Japan and promoted its oral-care attributes.
Aftermath
Xylitol became an important part of Lotte's functional gum strategy and was followed by additional xylitol-related products.
Recent events
- 2023
Lotte Confectionery renamed Lotte Wellfood[1]
Leadership change
After the 2022 combination with Lotte Food, Lotte Confectionery adopted the Lotte Wellfood name to represent a broader food portfolio.
- 2022
Lotte Confectionery and Lotte Food combined overlapping food operations[1]
M&A
Lotte Group pursued the combination of Lotte Confectionery and Lotte Food, including the integration of ice-cream activities that had previously competed within the group. The merger was completed on July 1, 2022.
- 2017
Lotte Confectionery spun off during creation of Lotte Corporation[1]
Other
Lotte Confectionery was reorganized through a spin-off connected with the establishment of Lotte Corporation as Lotte Group's holding company.
Sources1 sources
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