Pepero

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

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

Pepero is involved in a controversy with the Japanese product Pocky.

Flavors

As of 2014, it is sold in 7 flavors:

Controversy

Pocky was first released by Ezaki Glico, the 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 a 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.[6][2]

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 law suit 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

Pepero Day is an observance in South Korea similar to Valentine's Day, but held on November 11. The original purpose of the Pepero Day was to exchange peperos with each other in hopes of becoming taller and thinner.[11] The current purpose is to exchange peperos to show affection for friends and loved-ones.[6]

The exact origins of this day are unknown. [12] The origins are usually traced to a news story set in 1983. In the story, two female middle school students in the Yeongnam region exchanged peperos wishing that they would both become tall and thin.[11] There is some doubt about this story.[6] Some argue that the origin was due to the shape of 1’s in the date (November 11 – 11/11) resembling peperos.[12] While some attribute the similarity of shapes as factors that attributed to the popularity but not its origin.[11][6]

The fad spread with the idea that, for maximum effectiveness for height and thinness, one must eat 11 packets of Pepero on November 11, 11:11am and 11:11pm at 11 seconds exactly. From 1997, Lotte started to use the aforementioned school story to successfully promote Pepero Day. The trend led to other companies creating similar-shaped snacks to participate on Pepero Day.[11] As of 2012, Lotte was making 50% of its annual sales on Pepero Day.[6] As of 2013, several department stores including Hyundai Department Store, Shinsegae, and Lotte Department Store were benefiting for people celebrating the day while stores such as E-mart and Homeplus were specially displaying and selling peperos on the day.[13]

Pepero Day has been criticized for being a business tool of certain companies and for having high calories which is contradictory to its original meaning. Alternatives include "Garaetteok Day", which promotes Farmer’s Day through exchanges of garaetteok (sticks of white tteok).[11]

References

  1. ↑ (Korean) Pepero Type
  2. 1 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 strikingly 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.
  5. ↑ Park, Tae-Hee (November 7, 2013). "Glico finds partner for Korean market". Korea Joongang Daily (JoongAng Ilbo). Retrieved December 27, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 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 26 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.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 빼빼로데이 [Pepero Day] (in Korean). Parkmungak. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  12. 1 2 Imatome-Yun, Naomi. "November 11th is Pepero Day". About.com. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
  13. ↑ "[SS현장] '빼빼로 데이' 일부 소비자 "과소비 조장"…롯데마트 "안 사면 그만"". Sportsseoul.com. November 11, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pepero.
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