Korean beverage firm Lotte Chilsung’s creamy soda Milkis has become hugely popular in Taiwan, with more than 10 million cans being sold in the first eight months of this year, according to the company on Tuesday.

Since it entered the Taiwanese market in late 2020, Milkis has seen a dramatic uptick in sales. The 10 million mark is an 810 percent increase from the same period a year ago.

The company expects that more than 15 million cans will be sold this year, equating to a 550 percent on-year increase. When the beverage hit the shelves in the country for the first time in 2020, some 200,000 cans were sold.

The company focused on the increase in demand for healthy foods in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic and targeted the taste of consumers there with the concept of a soft carbonated drink containing milk.

Collaborative promotions with Taiwanese influencers, reaching out to customers on social media outlets such as Line and Facebook and review marketing through consumer experiences were launched to raise brand awareness, the firm said.

The popularity of Korean drama series such as tvN’s "Twenty-Five Twenty-One" and ENA’s "Extraordinary Attorney Woo" contributed to the increase in curiosity for Korean food and beverages.

Taiwan is the fourth country the company has exported more than 10 million cans of Milkis to per year, following Russia, China and the United States.

"We plan to introduce the strawberry flavor of Milkis to the Taiwanese market in the future and expand the product range to create a Milkis boom,” a company official said.