Pepero

Pepero (빼빼로) is a cookie stick, dipped in compound chocolate, manufactured by Lotte Confectionery in South Korea since 1983.[1]

This article is about a cookie in South Korea. For members of the political party in Spain, see People's Party (Spain).
Pepero Almond sticks

Flavors

As of 2017, Pepero is manufactured in several flavors:

  • Chocolate (Original)
  • Strawberry
  • Almond (coated with chocolate)
  • Nude (chocolate in the center with a biscuit coating on the outside; the other way around from an original chocolate pepero)
  • Nude Green Tea
  • White Chocolate Cookie
  • Black Chocolate Cookie
  • Tiramisu Cheese
  • Melon
  • Peanut
  • Double "Dip" White Chocolate (Two coatings instead of one)
  • Double "Dip" Black Chocolate
  • Blueberry Yogurt
  • Cherry double dip
  • Mint chocko
  • Yakult Yoghurt
  • Strawberry double dip
  • Nude Cheddar cheese
  • Dark chocolate (original)
  • Peanut Butter
  • Latte

Lotte also released a new version of Pepero, Pepero skinny, which is thinner and is "more crispy."

Controversy
Pocky was first released by Ezaki Glico, a Japanese confectionery company, in 1966, 17 years before the introduction of Pepero.

Pepero is "strikingly similar"[2] to the Japanese snack Pocky which is manufactured by the Japanese confectionery company Glico since 1966.[3][4][5] When Pepero was introduced in 1983, Glico considered taking action against what it considered a copycat snack but found it would be difficult, because Pocky was not sold in Korea.[6] As such Pepero has been claimed to be a Korean version of Pocky,[7] Lotte denies that it was inspired by the product.[2][6]

In 2014, Glico sued Lotte which allegedly copied packaging box design of Glico's Baton d'or exclusive series of Pocky and Pretz for Lotte's new product Premier Pepero.[8] On 14 August 2015, Seoul district court ruled that Lotte stole the box design of Glico's products and the ruling is expected to force Lotte to halt its sales of the product and dispose of the existing stock.[9]

On July 10, 2015, Glico filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court against Lotte USA for infringing on the trademarks of Pocky. Glico had registered the Pocky's three-dimensional trademarks prior to the launch of Pepero in the U.S.[10]

Pepero Day
Main article: Pepero Day

References
  1. (in Korean) Pepero Type Archived 2005-12-16 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Japan and South Korea argue over a chocolate-covered pretzel stick". The Washington Post. November 11, 2015. Lotte Confectionery, a South Korean food company, started making a similar product — while denying it had copied Pocky — called Pepero in 1983.
  3. "Pocky's history". Glico.
  4. 製品の歴史　ポッキー編 [Product history - Pocky] (in Japanese). Ezaki Glico. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013.
  5. Park, Tae-Hee (November 7, 2013). "Glico finds partner for Korean market". Korea Joongang Daily. JoongAng Ilbo. Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  6. Gale, Alastair (November 11, 2013). "On Pepero Day, a Japanese Rival Lurks". Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  7. グリコの「本家」ポッキー、韓国上陸へ　ロッテに対抗 [Glico's original, Pocky to land Korea competing against Lotte] (in Japanese). The Asahi Shimbun. May 15, 2013. Archived from the original on 17 May 2013.
  8. "EZAKI GLICO : Glico sues S. Korea's Lotte over "copied" packaging design". 4-traders.com. 26 December 2014. Archived from the original on 27 December 2014.
  9. "Court rules Lotte copied rival's snack design". The Korea Herald. August 23, 2015.
  10. "Inadmissible: Company Accused of Trademark Infringement, Rapper 50 Cent Doesn't Have 50 Cents, Files for Bankruptcy". New Jersey Law Journal. July 16, 2015.
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