As reported by the KoreaHerald, Orion collected a dividend of 50 billion won ($37.5 million) in August from its wholly owned subsidiary Orion Food Vina Co., Ltd. The South Korean company is set to receive the remaining dividend of 60 billion won (about $45 million) in October.

This is the first time Orion has received profits from its Vietnamese subsidiary, and the company plans to use the dividends to purchase sites in South Korea to build a logistics centre, expand its existing factories, and repay loans.

Orion began exporting Choco Pie to Vietnam in 1995 and founded Orion Food Vina in 2005. By 2022, Orion Food Vina was the largest confectionary manufacturer in Vietnam and its Choco Pie products accounted for 66 per cent of the pie market, according to a Nielsen survey.

The South Korean snack company recorded its highest annual earnings in 2022, with 472 billion won ($354 million) in sales and 89 billion won (almost $67 million) in operating profits, up 38.5 per cent and 40 per cent on-year, respectively.

“Last year, our bestselling products in the Vietnamese market were our potato-based snacks and Choco Pie, with some 70 billion won ($52 million) and 120 billion won ($90 million) in sales, respectively,” said an Orion spokesperson.

Orion is planning to build a third facility in Vietnam after the two plants it currently operates, one in the southern province of Binh Duong and the other in the northern province of Bac Ninh.

Last month, Orion entered into a strategic partnership with Thailand's dairy behemoth, Dutch Mill Co. to expand into Vietnam's booming dairy market.