K-Snack Wave Hits France as Turtle Chips Rolls Out to 1,200 Carrefour Stores (Image provided by Orion)
SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Orion’s flagship K-snack, Turtle Chips, has secured shelf space in all 1,200 Carrefour stores across France, marking the first time a single Korean snack brand has been simultaneously stocked in every outlet of the French retail giant.
The breakthrough comes after Carrefour’s buyers gave the four-layered snack high marks for its originality during internal evaluations. The product also benefited from the global surge of interest in Korean culture, fueled recently by the blockbuster Netflix animation K-Pop Demon Hunters.
The first product introduced to French consumers is Turtle Chips Choco Churros, which sparked a buying frenzy in Korea upon its 2018 launch. Orion plans to expand the lineup with flavors tailored to local tastes, following a strategy that has already proved successful in the United States.
Unlike most global food companies, which typically enter Carrefour gradually store by store, Orion bypassed that process, securing simultaneous nationwide placement just one year after its initial push into Europe. “Offering flavors that locals love first to build awareness and scale has been a winning approach for us,” an Orion spokesperson said.
The decision reflects both Carrefour’s growing confidence in Korean brands and Turtle Chips’ rising global profile. The snack has been spotlighted in Allrecipes, the world’s largest food magazine, which praised its patented four-layered texture as unlike any other snack on the market.
Turtle Chips is already a hit in the U.S., where exports have grown more than 230-fold since its 2017 debut, and is sold in over 20 countries, including the U.K., Sweden, Australia and Canada. Orion also produces the snack locally in markets such as China and Vietnam, while pushing into Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa and the UAE.
The company aims to position Turtle Chips as its “second Choco Pie,” Orion’s global best-seller. A new logistics hub under construction in Jincheon, South Korea, will serve as an export base to accelerate the brand’s expansion. If sales in France prove strong, Orion plans to extend distribution through Carrefour to Spain, Italy and Belgium.
“Interest from international buyers is expanding beyond Turtle Chips to other products like Yegam and Alemoni gummies,” the company said, signaling broader ambitions for Korean snacks in Europe and beyond.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
