It was announced on Thursday that Lotte Confectionery will invest 34 billion won ($28.5 million) in its Russian subsidiary, Lotte KF RUS, with the goal of increasing the local production of the company's popular Choco Pie chocolate cakes in the country.

The popular Korean chocolate snack has gained widespread acceptance in Russia, where it has tapped into the country's tea culture, which pairs hot beverages with biscuit-like sweets. A low-trans-fat breakfast meal is even served with the pie in that establishment.

While Orion has been at the forefront of the Russian Choco Pie market since its inception in 2003, raking in 105 billion won in sales last year, Lotte has been aggressively pursuing the market leader since the beginning of this decade. Sales of Choco Pie, which is produced in Lotte's factory in Obninsk, Kaluga, accounted for a significant portion of the company's 50 billion won in sales in the same year.

The company has ambitious plans to grow its market share in Russia by no less than 20% over the next three years by increasing its production capacity.

Lotte recently launched a new marketing campaign to help drive even more growth for its flagship product, the Choco Pie, which highlights the company's global Choco Pie slogan, "Happy Moments."

Lotte's international marketing strategy for Choco Pie extends from Russia to India and Pakistan, among other places.