Lotte Wellfood's premium ice cream product, the Krunch Bar, has quickly gained popularity in the Indian market. Launched in March, the product is a localized version of Korea’s iconic ice cream, ‘Pig Bar,’ and has been well received due to its unique taste, structure, and effective K-culture marketing strategies.
The Krunch Bar comes in three varieties: Yogurt Berry, Choco Berry, and Choco Vanilla. It is produced at Lotte’s new manufacturing facility in Pune, which began operations in February. Notably, this product is India’s first four-layered ice cream, featuring multi-layered components such as cookie toppings, chocolate coating, ice cream core, and internal syrup, capturing the playful essence and flavor characteristics typical of Korean ice creams. The Yogurt Berry flavor is particularly notable as it is an entirely new combination introduced for the first time in India.
Although classified as a premium product with a price of 60 rupees (approximately 1,000 KRW) for 80ml, considerably higher than the average ice pop price of 20-30 rupees, it has achieved remarkable sales of around 60 million rupees (approximately 1 billion KRW) within just three months of launch. This figure is about six times higher than the sales of the existing product, ‘World Cone,’ marking a successful entry into India’s premium frozen treat market.
Consumer reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. Anamika from Mumbai said, “It was a unique ice cream I hadn’t seen before, and it exceeded my expectations,” while Jai from Ahmedabad remarked, “The combination of four flavors in one bite was surprising and delightful.”
To support the product launch, Lotte Wellfood initiated aggressive marketing efforts to boost brand awareness. Outdoor advertisements are running in four major western Indian cities, and the ‘Taste The 4D’ digital campaign across YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook aims to convey the Korean cultural appeal behind the product.
Considering that the prime ice cream consumption season in India runs from March to June, Lotte plans to leverage the Krunch Bar extensively to expand sales. In fact, Lotte India’s ice cream division posted sales of 46.1 billion KRW in the first quarter of this year, reflecting a 34.4% growth compared to the same period last year. The Pune factory is also set to increase its production lines from nine to sixteen by 2028 to meet rising demand.
Since entering the Indian market in 2017 through the acquisition of Havmor, India’s leading ice cream brand, Lotte has been operating both Korean and local brands, including World Cone. The upcoming launch of the integrated Lotte India entity aims to further strengthen its market presence and growth in India’s competitive frozen treat sector.
