Orion Food vies for slice of health foods pie

Ti Gong

Choco Pie maker Orion Food Co Ltd  has brought new product lines including bottled water and nut bars to its debut at the China International Import Expo.

"It's an important window to enhance our brand image, and expand footprint in the local market with a new portfolio," said Lee Kyu Hong, president of Orion Food Co Ltd.

The move to expand into a comprehensive food company comes at a time when health and wellness consciousness is at an all-time high.

"We want more consumers and industry counterparts to know about us not only as a snack company but also as a comprehensive food provider," he said. "We have decided to introduce more items through the following expos."

In the first ten months, sales volume in China was up 15 percent from last year thanks to more combo packages sold through e-commerce channels.

The company will continue to invest in biscuits and other health and wellness food categories.

"Introducing healthy food to the expo was an important driving force for us to set up a booth at the CIIE," he added.

The company intends to fully leverage local raw material source such as nuts to add new product lines.

It's already received some tentative requests from regional distributors and has decided to participate in upcoming expos.  

China is already the biggest market for the Korean company with more than half of sales. It  also plans to launch more snacks with natural fibres and fitness features.