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Lotte Wellfood to raise prices on Pepero, other products as won weakens, costs rise

Published: 06 Feb. 2025, 14:24 Updated: 06 Feb. 2025, 16:10

WOO JI-WON
[email protected]

Boxes of Pepero are stacked in a market in Seoul on Nov. 10, 2024. [YONHAP]

Food and beverage company Lotte Wellfood is set to raise prices on 26 products, including Pepero, citing the weakened won against the dollar, rising costs of raw materials such as cocoa and increasing processing expenses.

The prices will increase starting Feb. 17 by an average of 9.5 percent, according to the manufacturer's press release on Thursday.

This marks the first price hike in just over eight months.

The price of the 70-gram (2.5 ounces) Ghana Mild Chocolate bar and the 34-gram Crunky chocolate bar will both rise by 24.1 percent , from 2,800 won ($1.90) to 3,400 won and from 1,400 won to 1,700 won, respectively.

Chocolate Pepero, one of the company’s flagship products, will see a 200-won, or 11.1 percent price hike, bringing the cost of a 54-gram box from 1,800 won to 2,000 won. The price of a 12-pack box of Mon Cher will jump from 6,600 won to 7,000 won.

The 315-gram Lotte Sandwich Cookie pineapple flavor and the 300-gram Butter Coconut will each increase by 200 won to 5,000 won from 4,800 won. The 660-gram box of Margaret Original will see a 300-won hike, rising to 13,500 won from 13,200 won.

The company's ice cream products will also become more costly, with the price of the World Cone and Seoleim both increasing from 1,200 won to 1,400 won.

Lotte Wellfoods previously raised prices on 17 products, including Pepero, by an average of 12 percent on June 1 last year.

With the upcoming price hike, the price of Pepero will have increased by a total of 300 won since May 2024, while Crunky will have risen by 500 won.

The company attributed the increases to the surging costs of key raw materials, including oil, crude oil and cocoa, as well as higher processing expenses such as logistics, labor and electricity.

Cocoa prices, in particular, have seen a sharp rise in recent years, hitting a record high of $12,565 per ton on Dec. 20 last year — an increase of 172 percent over the past year.

The weakened won against the dollar has also contributed to cost pressures, Lotte Wellfood said, as local food manufacturers, including the company, rely heavily on imported raw materials.

BY WOO JI-WON [[email protected]]