Lotte Wellfood enters Costco stores in Canada, Mexico

South Korea's Lotte Wellfood Co. announced on Tuesday that it is expanding exports to Mexico and Canada through Costco. It marks the first entry of a domestic confectionery company into Mexico's Costco.

Starting January this year, the company is selling "Zero" chocolate chip cookies and 12-grain baked "Crispy Roll" at Mexico's Costco, and chocolate-covered pretzel stick "Pepero" in Canada's Costco. Costco operates a global distribution channel with 872 stores worldwide, including 40 in Mexico and 108 in Canada.

Lotte Wellfood is already present in local retail chains in Mexico, such as Walmart, HEB, Liverpool and Grupo Sanchez.

The exported items to Canada's Costco include Almond Pepero, White Pepero and Crunky Pepero. Lotte Wellfood has been actively promoting the Pepero brand in North America, featuring girl group NewJeans as models and conducting outdoor advertising campaigns in New York Times Square, Los Angeles and other locations for Pepero Day on Nov. 11.

The entry into all Costco stores in Canada is expected to significantly increase the brand recognition of Pepero. Previously, Lotte Wellfood had entered local retail chains such as Walmart, Loblaw and Dollar Tree in Canada.

"Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, consistent efforts have yielded positive results. We will continue to export various products to North America," said a Lotte Wellfood official.

Write to Hyeong-Ju Oh at ohj@hankyung.com