Lotte Wellfood promotes Pepero Day in New York

South Korea's Lotte Wellfood Co. announced on Thursday it has started the global campaign for Pepero in the US, the company's iconic chocolate-covered pretzel stick brand. 

The company shows its ad video at Times Square in New York and Korean Town in Los Angeles. K-pop girl group NewJeans is featured in this ad as the global ambassador of Pepero. It also runs ad-wrapping buses. These wrapping ads' images are Original Pepero, Almond Pepero, and NewJeans' promotional visuals.

Pepero's marketing campaign is "Say Hello with Pepero." Lotte Wellfood explained that this is a warm and empathetic message by handing over a Pepero and it can share more than ten words.

The company aims to boost the brand awareness of Pepero in the US market, especially ahead of Pepero Day on Nov. 11. 

Lotte Wellfood targets global young customers with this campaign and produces video content across multiple media channels, including YouTube and Instagram. It also partnered with the US-based famous Korean food supermarket chain brand H-Mart.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the snack's launch, which is currently available in over 50 countries, including the US, Middle East Asia, and Southeast Asia. 

According to the company, overseas sales for Pepero reached 48 billion won ($35.3 million) last year, which surged 40% year-on-year.

Write to Kyeong-je Han at hankyung@hankyung.com