[K-Food] Choco Pie Orion, a snack with Korean memories

Choco Pie, Korea's representative snack

• Has been on sale since 1974
• Chocolate-coated snack 
• With marshmallows between two round biscuits
• Price is $0.2 per piece

In Korea, it is a representative product of the Korean confectionery industry with the status of national confectionery. Choco Pie. The first product that comes to mind when you think of chocolate pie in Korea.

Overview

This Choco Pie was released before Korea's economic growth, and was one of the foods that poor people without money eat instead of meals. In particular, it was the only thing that made the army (Korea's conscription system) taste sweet every weekend.

My childhood snack, choco pie

Choco Pie is the most popular snack sold in local shops in the 80s and 90s in Korea. I always chose Choco Pie among other snacks and thought it was the most delicious in the world. I wasn't the only one who liked chocolate pie. When I was in elementary school, I celebrated my friend's birthday by stacking several chocolate pies and putting candles at that age. 

Apink's Eun Ji, Choco Pie birthday cake!

It was not until the 1990s that the restaurant industry grew that many franchises began to emerge. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, when I spent my childhood, restaurant companies were not as diverse as they are now. McDonald's and Burger King entered Korea in the 1980s, but the number of stores in the neighborhood was not as large as it is now. The same was true of Korean chain stores. In addition, franchise food prices were high in terms of the economic power of ordinary people. 

So, when I went out of the house, I naturally became interested in small shops all over the world. It was a small store, but for a small child, the store where various snacks were displayed was as large and colorful as a treasure island, and an unknown world where strange things like flower and water were endlessly created. At this time, my favorite snack I met while coveting the store was Choco Pie.

 

Use the trademark "情" of Choco Pie!

"Snacks where you can share your affection (情)"

The reason for adding "情" is as follows. Originally, Choco Pie was quite expensive and was on the high-end snack list. In the early days, chocolate pie advertisements were nuance advertisements that "you can eat high-quality chocolate cakes for just $0.2" However, as living conditions gradually increased, they were no longer accepted as such, and naturally, sales began to decline gradually.

 

Then, they felt a crisis and changed their marketing strategy

Among the advertisements that came out at this time as "a snack to share affection," there was an advertisement saying, "My nephew gives a chocolate pie to my uncle in the army."

In the 2000s, Choco Pie is based on this concept, but it has continued to change with the times, renewing the letters and packages of packaging in a young and sensuous way, and focusing on the taste and packaging of the product. 

In addition, just as Chang-geon pioneered the Silk Road for trade between the East and the West in BC, Choco Pie followed his own "Pi Road" and stepped on the land of as many as 70 countries. I think the most noticeable recent move of Choco Pie is that the existing Choco Pie premium version, Choco Pie House, opened in 2017. It sells Choco Pie at offline stores like cafes.

 

Choco Pie House, Dogok Offline Store

Google Map >>> Dogok Store

Choco Pie House is a premium store, but it is a place that contains the soul of Orion Choco Pie's affection with a long tradition. So, what's the difference from conventional choco pie? First of all, the outside is similar to the original. However, Choco Pie House's products are high-end versions, so they are handmade, packaged in a sophisticated. The ingredients inside are comparable to desserts at offline cafes. 

A new banana Choco Pie came out

I went to the mart the other day and saw Banana Choco Pie. Both inside and outside were bright yellow Banana Choco Pie. A few years ago, it was still coated with chocolate on its body, maintaining its original identity, but it changed dramatically over the years. Is it okay if the body part changes like that? As a fan of Choco Pie, I had many thoughts.

In addition to banana flavor, Orion Choco Pie has quite a few family members. These all look delicious. Choco Pie is painted with a large choco pie that looks appetizing on the outer package. It feels retro, so it's tacky, but it's so honest that it's cute and makes me smile. Even if you don't eat, just looking at the package makes you full. 

So even if a new product came out, I didn't buy it in a hurry. Choco Pie has a long history, and products that are sluggish in sales often revamp their appearance rapidly, but the Choco Pie box design was released every time without departing from its original appearance and was clearly convinced that it was not something that would easily disappear.

 

 

A wide variety of products

Choco Pie has been constantly evolving, producing numerous variations, including chocolate chip choco pie, matcha latte choco pie, banana choco pie, banana whipped cream choco pie, and strawberry choco pie. 

In the future, I wonder whether Choco Pie will continue to evolve by adapting well to external changes in a harsh market dominated by the law of the weak and strong, or will fall behind and disappear from the market.

  

Choco Pie Original

This is the original Choco Pie. As a Korean, he seems to be very affectionate.

 

Choco Pie Banana

Banana cream containing raw banana ingredients was added to the marshmallow as well as the outside, realizing a darker and richer banana taste with a softer texture. In other words, the chocolate flavor disappeared, so only the name is Choco Pie, and in reality, it has become a "Banana Pie."

The banana cream inside has a strong banana scent, and the banana cream on the outside tastes lighter than the chocolate of the original chocolate pie.

  

Choco Pie Malcha Latte

It was released on November 17, 2016, and is a product that has jumped on the green tea flavor craze. The scent of green tea is subtle. 

 

 

What about now?

Now that I live in a "delicious heaven" from numerous kinds of restaurant brands in Korea and abroad to late-night delivery companies, I may not care about old snacks, but there are several reasons why I constantly look for Choco Pie.

First of all, it is easy to get regardless of time and space, and the price is very low. Above all, the unique taste that I tasted once and completely fell in love with is stuck in my head, and I still can't get it out of my mouth. Scientifically, children's sense of taste is far more developed than adults, and the taste of all kinds of food entering the mouth is repeatedly learned, making it difficult to change their tastes. Perhaps it is clear that it is a snack that Koreans will be together for a long time.