Choco pie
 |
| This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2009) |
The Choco pie or Choco Pie is a snack cake consisting of two small round layers of cake with marshmallow filling with chocolate covering, similar to a MoonPie. It is sold by Orion Confectionery, as well as Lotte Confectionery, Haitai Confectionery (acquired by Crown), and Crown Confectionery.
History
In 1929, the MoonPie with marshmallow filling and Graham crackers was created by Chattanooga Bakery for local miners in Chattanooga, Tennessee.[1]
Starting in 1958, a similar type of marshmallow filling cake was sold by Morinaga in Japan as "Angel Pie".[2]
Tongyang Confectionery (Orion) started to sell a similar product known as "Orion Choco Pie" in 1974. In 1973, a member of the Tongyang's R&D team had visited a hotel in Georgia, US, and was inspired after seeing chocolate-covered sweets in the hotel's cafe. He returned to South Korea and began experimenting with a chocolate biscuit cake. After experimentation with marshmallows and biscuits, the Choco Pie was created.[3] The name "Choco Pie" became famous when "Orion Choco Pie" was first introduced by Tongyang, and the cake became well-received by many Korean children and senior citizens because of its inexpensive price and the white marshmallow filling. Tongyang Confectionery later renamed the company to Orion Confectionery due to the success of the "Orion Choco Pie" brand.
In 1979 Lotte Confectionery also started to sell a similar cake. When Lotte Confectionery put "Lotte Choco Pie" on the market, it spelled "Cho" slightly differently in Hangul from that of Tongyang's product. Haitai and Crown Confectionery also began selling their own chocolate pies. In 1999 Tongyang (Orion) filed a lawsuit against Lotte for their usage of "Choco Pie". As a result of the court ruling, "Choco Pie" is considered a common noun due to its usage to refer to the similar cakes.[4]
Export
Starting in the 2000s, Orion used the Choco Pie to gain a foothold in foreign markets, and now controls a two-thirds share of the Chinese snack market, with a third of Orion's revenue coming from outside Korea in 2006.[5] Around 12.1 billion Choco Pies have been sold all over the world.[clarification needed][6]
Orion seeks a share in four major markets - South Korea, Russia, Vietnam and China. The snack has also been particularly successful in India, Vietnam and Taiwan. Additionally, it has become a favorite snack of North Korean workers at the Kaesong Industrial Complex and has come to symbolize capitalism.[7] In 2010, The Chosun Ilbo reported that Choco Pies could fetch as much as US$9.50 on the North Korean black market.[8]
Legal feud
In South Korea, there was a legal feud in 1999 between Tongyang Confectionery (currently, Orion Confectionery) and another confectionery company, Lotte Confectionery, concerning the name "Choco Pie". While Orion was the first company to start selling products under the name "Choco Pie", other confectionery companies, Lotte being the first, closely followed and started selling similar products labelled "Choco Pie". After many years of sales of different "Choco Pie" products, Tongyang filed a lawsuit against Lotte, claiming the name was their intellectual property, which was unsuccessful. The court said Tongyang was responsible for having allowed the name to become, over time, a "common noun".[4]
See also
References
- ^ "MoonPie: About". Chattanooga Bakery. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ "エンゼルパイといつまでも" (in Japanese). Morinaga & Company. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
- ^ 남형도기자 (4 May 2011). "새우깡의 '깡' 무슨 뜻? '장수과자' 이야기" (in Korean). The Financial News. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
- ^ a b ""Choco Pie" is a "Common Noun"". Chosun Ilbo. 5 August 1999. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ^ Kelly, Tim (27 February 2006). "Cookie Monster". Forbes.com LLC. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
- ^ "(Korean)" (in Korean). Orion Confectionery. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
- ^ Donald Kirk (21 May 2009). "Pyongyang chokes on sweet capitalism". Asia Times Online. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
- ^ "Choco Pie Rules Black Market in N.Korea". Chosun Ilbo. 12 January 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
External links
 | ||
