Choco Pie maker Orion Corp. has become Asia’s top confectionary brand, or 12th in worldwide scale. According to the 2022 Global Top 100 published by Candy Industry, a magazine covering the global confectionery industry, Orion moved up two notches to No. 12 last year. The rank is the highest among Asian brands. Orion is the only Korean name that kept to top 15 list for a decade. The ranking is based on annual net sales of the previous year. Mars Wrigley, a US chocolate bar maker, topped the list, followed by Ferrero Group, Mondelez International, the Hershey Company, and Nestle SA. Korea’s Lotte Confectionery and Crown-Haitai ranked 24th and 29th. Orion recorded 372.9 billion won ($312.9 million) in operating profit in 2021 on total global sales of 2.36 trillion won. The key sales driver was its sweet snack “Choco Pie” whose total sales at home and abroad topped 500 billion won for the first time since its launch with year-on-year growth of 8.8 percent. Its brisk sales are attributable to Orion’s marketing strategy to appeal to different tastes and cultures. Turtle Chips has been the next big seller. The chips, named for their shape resembling a tortoiseshell, have unique textures with a crunch factor. The snack posted 54.5 billion won in sales last year, up 28 percent from the previous year in the Korean market, while its overseas sales rose 58 percent to 17.2 billion won. The chips also customized flavors uniquely appealing to each market. Orion has so far launched 44 different tastes of Turtle Chips to lead the craze for the chips across the world. Orion’s business in China kept up sales of 200 billion won while its Vietnamese operation raised sales of over 300 billion won.