Nestlé and Lotte Group to end South Korea joint venture

Lotte-Nestlé Korea manufactures and distributes Nescafé instant coffee products in South Korea | Photo credit: Nestlé

Nestlé will wind down its joint venture with Korean conglomerate Lotte Group by the first quarter of 2026, its Seoul-based subsidiary has announced. 
 

Formed in June 2014, the Lotte-Nestlé Korea partnership manufactures and distributes Nescafé instant coffee products, pet-food and culinary products. 

“Nestlé and Lotte have collectively made this decision after comprehensively considering various factors, including our overall global priorities, as well as the domestic market conditions and our shared abilities to win,” Nestlé Korea CEO Thomas Caso said in a statement. 

“We are breaking up with Nestle Korea because our business strategy is not right, and the end of the joint venture has been around for many years,” a Lotte Group official said. 

Lotte-Nestlé Korea posted an annual net loss of ₩10.1bn ($7.3m) in 2023 amid heightened competition from domestic food corporations, Namyang Dairy and Dongsuh Foods, the latter of which distributes Maxim T.O.P and Maxwell House ready-to-drink (RTD) products in South Korea. 

While the food and beverage giant did not disclose plans for its Nescafé operations, it is likley to transfer the ranges to  Nestlé Korea, which already manages Nestlé’s Nespresso, Starbucks at Home and Blue Bottle packaged coffee brands in the East Asian country.  

Nestlé Korea has already confirmed plans to absorb Nestlé Purina PetCare from Lotte-Nestlé Korea in April 2025, with the transfer of further business lines expected over the next 12 months.