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French hypermarket chain Carrefour begins selling Orion's Kkobuk Chip across all outlets

Published: 01 Sep. 2025, 14:50 Updated: 01 Sep. 2025, 18:08

Orion’s Kkobuk Chip snack entered Carrefour, the French hypermarket chain, the company said Sept. 1. [ORION]

Orion’s Kkobuk Chip snack is now stocked at French hypermarket chain Carrefour, the Korean snack company said Monday.

It is the first time Carrefour has introduced a Korean snack across all of its French outlets. The retailer operates about 1,200 stores in France.

“Normally, the number of stores [stocking the item] expands gradually depending on sales performance,” an Orion official said. “But Carrefour’s buyers, known for being selective with new brands, judged Kkobuk Chip’s product quality highly and skipped the usual vetting process.”

The first product launched in France is the chocolate churros flavor, which caused a frenzy — selling out when it debuted in Korea. Sales in France began Aug. 12, with stores stocking the product in phases. Orion said it plans to capture French consumers’ taste for sweet desserts before rolling out more flavors.

The Carrefour launch comes about a year after Orion entered the U.K., Iceland and Sweden in September 2024.

Orion aims to build Kkobuk Chip into a global brand to follow its flagship Choco Pie. The company has introduced a wide range of flavors tailored to local markets. In the United States, it launched the corn soup flavor in 2017, followed by the seaweed and truffle varieties. U.S. exports of Kkobuk Chip in 2023 were more than 230 times higher than in 2017.

“With the global popularity of the Netflix animated film 'KPop Demon Hunters' and the Hallyu boom, exports of Kkobuk Chip are rising in both volume and destination,” the Orion official said. The company added that its new Jincheon integrated center in North Chungcheong, now under construction, will serve as a base for exports and help drive overseas growth.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY NOH YU-RIM [[email protected]]