Orion sold cheaper Choco Pies in China — and blamed the customer who noticed

In late March 2022, a Chinese netizen posted a detailed comparison showing that Orion — the South Korean confectionery company behind Choco Pie, and market leader in China's pie-cake snack category — was charging Chinese consumers roughly 35% more than Korean consumers for the same products, while using cheaper ingredients in its China-market versions. The post spread rapidly across Weibo and Douyin under the hashtag #好丽友双标 (#OrionDoubleStandards).

Orion China responded with a statement on 28 March 2022, denying the allegations. It claimed the company was a locally incorporated entity that sourced ingredients from China, and that any differences in formulation reflected local preferences and regulations, not cost-cutting at Chinese consumers' expense. The denial only inflamed the backlash: consumers who had grown up on Choco Pies felt the brand was treating them as second-class customers.

The timing amplified the damage. The controversy broke just weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine had driven up global commodity prices, and Chinese consumers were already sensitive to price increases. Orion's Korean headquarters added to the confusion by acknowledging that China-market products did use different recipes — directly contradicting its Chinese subsidiary's denials.

Sales of Orion products in China dropped sharply in the weeks after the controversy. The company lost shelf space in convenience stores and supermarkets, and the brand — once one of the most trusted foreign food brands in China — became a shorthand for corporate hypocrisy in Chinese social-media discourse. By mid-2023, Orion's China revenues had still not returned to pre-controversy levels, though the company remained profitable in the market.