Who owns Pepero?
Pepero is owned by Lotte (South Korea, KRX: 004990).[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Lotte Wellfood — Product Brands (제품소개), Lotte Wellfood Co., Ltd. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Lotte Corporation reported
- Owner HQ
- 🇰🇷 South Korea, Seoul
- Origin
- 🇰🇷 South Korea
- Founded
- 1983
- Category
- Food › Confectionery › Chocolate
- Parent ticker
- KRX: 004990
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Pepero
Pepero is a chocolate-coated biscuit stick launched in 1983 and closely resembling the Japanese Pocky. Pepero Day on 11 November, chosen because the date resembles four sticks, has become a substantial informal gift-giving occasion in Korea. Lotte says the date was adopted by schoolgirls before the company began promoting it.
Ownership timeline of Pepero
Where Pepero sits in Lotte
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Lotte ownership tree →
See the full Lotte brand portfolio (4) →
Other brands owned by Lotte
Lotte controls 4 brands on Brandtree, 4 of them in food.
Also in food
- Choco Pie (1974)
- Ghana Chocolate (1975)
- Lotte Xylitol (2000)
Other brands in chocolate, and who owns them
The 131 brands in chocolate on Brandtree belong to 45 owners. The largest is Mars, with 9; Lotte has 2.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Bounty | Mars | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Cadbury | Mondelēz | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Danusia | Wawel | 🇵🇱 Poland |
| Elizabeth Shaw | Colian | 🇵🇱 Poland |
| Baby Ruth | Ferrero | 🇮🇹 Italy |
| Almond Joy | Hershey | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Caffarel | Lindt & Sprüngli | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
| Eitt Sett | Nói Síríus | 🇮🇸 Iceland |
About the owner: Lotte
Lotte is a publicly listed company headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, founded in 1948. Brandtree records 4 brands under its control, and it is listed as KRX: 004990.
Lotte was founded in Tokyo in 1948 by a Korean entrepreneur selling chewing gum, and the name comes from Charlotte in Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther. It grew into a conglomerate spanning confectionery, retail, hotels and chemicals across Korea and Japan, and the founding Shin family controls it.
🇰🇷 Pepero and other South Korean brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 185 brands that began in South Korea. 7 of them (4%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Pepero is not one of them.
- Absolute — Maeil Dairies 🇰🇷
- Banana-Flavored Milk — Binggrae 🇰🇷
- Buldak — Samyang Foods 🇰🇷
- Chapagetti — Nongshim 🇰🇷
- Cheesy Ramen — Otoki 🇰🇷
- Chungjungone — Daesang 🇰🇷
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Pepero?
The parent company of Pepero is Lotte, a publicly listed company headquartered in South Korea.
Is Pepero South Korean?
Yes. Pepero originated in South Korea in 1983 and its owner, Lotte, is also headquartered in South Korea.
Is Pepero still owned by Lotte?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, Pepero is still owned by Lotte. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Lotte Wellfood — Product Brands (제품소개) — Lotte Wellfood Co., Ltd., Official document; retrieved 28 September 2026.
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