Kit Kat

Kit Kat is a chocolate-coated wafer confection that was created by Rowntree's of York, England, and is now produced worldwide by Nestlé, which acquired Rowntree in 1988,^[1] except in the United States where it is made under licence by The Hershey Company. Each bar consists of fingers composed of three layers of wafer, covered in an outer layer of chocolate. Each finger can be snapped from the bar separately.

History

The origins of the "Kit Kat" brand go back to 1935, when Rowntree's, a confectionery company based in York in the United Kingdom, trademarked the terms "Kit Cat" and "Kit Kat". Although the terms were not immediately utilised, the first conception of the Kit Kat appeared in the 1920s, when Rowntree launched a brand of boxed chocolates entitled "Kit Cat". This continued into the 1930s, when Rowntree's shifted focus and production onto its "Black Magic" and "Dairy Box" brands. With the promotion of alternative products the "Kit Cat" brand decreased and was eventually discontinued.^[2] The original four-finger bar was developed after a worker at Rowntree's York Factory put a suggestion in a recommendation box for a snack that "a man could take to work in his pack".^[3] The bar launched on 29 August 1935, under the title of "Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp" (priced at 2d), and was sold in London and throughout Southern England.^[4]

The product's official title of "Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp" was renamed "Kit Kat Chocolate Crisp" in 1937, the same year that 'Kit Kat' began to incorporate "Break" into its recognisable advertising strategy.^[2] The colour scheme and first flavour variation to the brand came in 1942, owing to World War II, when food shortages prompted an alteration in the recipe. The flavour of "Kit Kat" was changed to "dark"; the packaging abandoned its "Chocolate Crisp" title, and was adorned in blue.^[5] After the war the title was altered to "Kit Kat" and resumed its original milk recipe and red packaging.

Following on from its success in the United Kingdom, in the 1940s "Kit Kat" was exported to Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. During the same decade Donald Gilles, the executive at JWT Orland, created the iconic advertising line "Have a Break, Have a Kit Kat". The brand further expanded in the 1970s when Rowntree created a new distribution factory in Germany to meet European demand, and established agreements to distribute the brand in the USA and Japan, through the Hershey and Fujiya companies respectively.^[2] In June 1988 Nestlé acquired Kit Kat through the purchase of Rowntree's. This gave Nestlé global control over the brand, except in North America,^[6] and production and distribution increased with new facilities in Japan and additional manufacturing operations set up in Malaysia, India and China.^[2]

Variants in the traditional chocolate bar first appeared in 1996 when "Kit Kat Orange", the first flavour variant, was introduced in the United Kingdom. Its success was followed by several varieties including mint and caramel, and in 1999 "Kit Kat Chunky" was launched and received favourably by international consumers. Variations on the traditional "Kit Kat" have continued to develop throughout the 2000s. In 2000 Nestlé acquired Fujiya’s share of the brand in Japan, and also expanded its marketplace in Japan, Russia, Turkey and Venezuela, in addition to markets in Eastern and Central Europe.^[2] Throughout the decade 'Kit Kat' has introduced dozens of flavours and line extensions within specific consumer markets, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on 10 October 2009.

The traditional bar has four fingers which each measure approximately 1 centimetre (0.39 in) by 9 centimetres (3.5 in). A two-finger bar was launched in the 1930s, and has remained the company's best-selling biscuit brand ever since.^[4] The 1999 "Kit Kat Chunky" (known as "Big Kat" in the US) has one large finger approximately 2.5 centimetres (0.98 in) wide. Kit Kat bars contain varying numbers of fingers depending on the market, ranging from the half-finger sized Kit Kat Petit in Japan, to the three-fingered variants in Arabia, to the twelve-finger family-size bars in Australia and France. Kit Kat bars are sold individually and in bags, boxes and multi-packs. In Ireland, the UK and America Nestlé also produces a Kit Kat Ice Cream, and in Australia and Malaysia, "Kit Kat Drumsticks".

In 2010 a new GBP 5 million manufacturing line was opened by Nestlé in York, UK. This will produce more than a billion Kit Kat bars each year.^[7]

Global confection

Kit Kat bars are produced in 21 countries by Nestlé: UK, Egypt, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Algeria, South Africa, Germany, Russia, Japan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Turkey, Venezuela, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Bulgaria and Ukraine.

Kit Kat bars in the United States are produced under licence by The Hershey Company, a Nestlé competitor, due to a prior licensing agreement with Rowntree.

The year 2003 was a turning point for the Kit Kat bar as well as the confectionery industry in general. The popularity of low carb diets and the push to healthier eating stifled sales growth in many parts of the world. In addition, fierce competition from Cadbury's newly formed Dairy Milk superbrand also contributed to sales of the Kit Kat decreasing considerably in its home market of the UK, and threatened to depose it from its #1 position.^[8][9] The solution adopted by Nestlé and others was to increase dramatically the number of new and unique variations of their confections and market them as limited or special editions, whereby they would usually only be available for a few months at a time so as not to impact the sales of their permanent edition counterparts.^[10] The strategy initially reversed the decline of the Kit Kat^[11] and has been adopted worldwide by Nestlé, Hershey, Mars and others with similar success.^[12][13]

This has resulted in many new flavours and varieties of the Kit Kat and other confections appearing globally since then. While some flavours have been hits, many have flopped, alienating some consumers in the process, causing Nestlé to scale back on new releases.

In late 2005, Chris White, the managing director of Nestlé Rowntree abruptly left his job amid controversy that his marketing strategies may in fact have had a negative impact on Kit Kat and confection sales in the long term.^[14] Also, in September 2006 Nestlé announced they were eliminating 25% of their workforce in York and moving production of Smarties to Germany. One of the reasons given for the cuts and moves was so the York factory could be modernised for Kit Kat production to continue.^[15]

As dark chocolate has seen increased demand and favour worldwide because of its purported health benefits, September 2006 saw the launch of the four-finger Kit Kat Fine Dark in the UK as a permanent edition, as well as new packaging for the entire brand. Hershey had sold the four-finger Kit Kat Dark in the US several years previously as a limited edition, and has begun doing so again.^[16]

Nestle now manufactures two finger Kit Kats with natural flavourings, and for the first time, Kit Kats in this format are suitable for vegetarians. It is not known at this date whether or not other varieties will follow suit.

Brand name and appearance

Originally named Rowntree's chocolate crisp, the traditional red wrapper of the original bar briefly became blue between 1945–1947. As a result of milk shortages after the end of World War II, the milk chocolate coating was suspended and a dark chocolate was used instead during that period.

The Hershey Company has a licence to produce Kit Kat bars in the United States which dates from 1969, when Hershey executed a licensing agreement for Kit Kat and the Rolo with Rowntree in the United States (and for Oh Henry! in Canada). Nestlé, which has a substantial presence in the US, had to honour the licensing agreement which allows Hershey to retain the Kit Kat / Rolo licence so long as Hershey is not sold. This was a factor in Hershey's failed attempt to attract a serious buyer in 2002.^[17][18]

Hershey's Kit Kat packaging and advertising in the USA has differed from the branding used in every other country where it is sold, although in 2002 Hershey Kit Kats finally started to adopt the slanted ellipse logo used worldwide by Nestlé (though the ellipse is red and the text is white, rather than the other way around). It is possible to purchase the (imported) Nestle version of the Kit Kat Chunky in various specialty shops in the US.

In Norway, a similar product is manufactured by Kraft Foods and sold as Kvikk Lunsj; Kvikk Lunsj XXL is similar to a Kit Kat Chunky.

Marketing and promotion

After launching in the 1930s, Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp was originally advertised as "the biggest little meal" and "the best companion to a cup of tea". During the Second World War, Kit Kat was depicted as a valuable wartime foodstuff, with the slogan "what active people need". 'Kitty the Kat' arrived in the late 1940s to emphasise the "rich full cream milk" qualities of the bar and, thanks to contemporary improvements in production methods, also highlighted the new and improved 'snap' by responding to a biscuit being broken off screen. The first Kit Kat poster appeared in 1951, and the first colour TV advertisement appeared in 1969.

Since 1957, the slogan for the Kit Kat in the UK and elsewhere has been "Have a break... have a Kit Kat". However, in 1995, Nestlé sought to trademark the "Have a break" portion. After a ten year legal battle, which was contested by rival Mars, the European Court of Justice ruled on 7 July 2005 to send the case back to the British Courts.^[19]

In the meantime, Nestlé UK changed the slogan in 2004 to "Make the most of your break".^[20] The new slogan was not embraced outside of the UK and recently Nestlé Rowntree has returned to using the original slogan.

The United States also used the short lived slogan, "Tastes So Good, You'll Roar", in the early 1980s. The TV commercial most known from this slogan involved a young man or teenager going into a convenience store, choosing a Kit Kat bar, paying for it, then with the store owner behind him and as he's walking out, bites into one of the fingers, then roars like a lion so loudly the whole store shakes violently, knocking everything off the shelves.

The "classic" American version of the "Gimme a Break" Kit Kat jingle (in use in the US since 1986) was written by Ken Shuldman (lyrics) and Michael A. Levine (music) for the DDB Advertising Agency. Versions of the original have been covered by Carrie Underwood, Shawn Colvin, and many studio singers, as well as people who have appeared on-camera in the commercials. The jingle was cited in a study by University of Cincinnati researcher James A. Kellaris as one of the top ten "earworms" - bits of melody that become stuck in your head. Another version of the advertising jingle 'Gimme a break' created for Kit Kat "Factory" commercial in the USA was an original recording by Andrew W.K. W.K. was hired to write a new musical version for their "Gimme a break" slogan. Variations on the Andrew W.K. advertisement included executive dance routines in corporate offices, and a network news room. However, the "classic" song has also been used again since the newer version first aired in 2004.

A 1989 advertisement for Kit Kat, in which a giant panda in a zoo "takes a break", came in 30th in Channel 4's "100 Greatest Adverts" poll in 2000.

In late 2004 through to the end of 2006, Nestlé Rowntree sponsored York City F.C.. As a result the club's home-ground, Bootham Crescent, was renamed to KitKat Crescent.^[21]

Fairtrade

In December 2009, it was announced that the four finger variety of Kit Kat would use Fairtrade chocolate (at least in Britain and Ireland) from January 2010.^[22] It has also been announced that the fair trade Kit Kat promotion will be extended to the finger edition as of January 2010.^[23]

Varieties

Many varieties of Kit Kat have existed, either temporarily or permanently: There are often country-specific limited edition bars (not listed). (listed by primary market or origin)

The Kit Kat Orange was the first flavour variant. It was introduced in the UK in 1996, followed in 1997 by the Kit Kat Dark and Kit Kat Mint. As of 2008, all three are available as permanent editions in the UK in two finger multipacks, along with the Kit Kat Original and Kit Kat White.

A wide variety of promotional items exist, ranging from the obvious (such as mugs, pens, oven gloves and tea-towels) to the somewhat less obvious (such as Kit Kat coats for small dogs). Recently in Japan, Kit Kats have come packaged with CD singles and a special limited edition double pack of Kit Kat Crispy Monogatari came bundled with a mini book featuring six short stories, one of which is written by Koji Suzuki, author of the Ring cycle series of books. The brand is often declined into special edition products in different markets to commemorate festivals such as St. Valentine's Day.

Kit Kat Japan also has unique "Regional" variations such as a mango-flavoured Kit Kat available only in Kyushu and Okinawa.

Kit Kat is also available in jars that are dispensed from vending machines in Japan.

Standard finger bars

The 'standard' Kit Kat finger bars can come in a variety of presentations and nutritional values.^[24] The bars can come in a miniature form of two finger mini bars, or a larger standard four, or in some cases, three, fingered bars. The standard size has been upgraded in several cases up to a 'King Size' bar, which can include up to five or eight fingers.

Large single finger 'Chunky' bars

Other forms and shapes

• Kit Kat Choc'n'Go — France (box of individually wrapped fingers)
• Kit Kat Choc'n'Go Dark Choco — France (limited edition, dark chocolate coating with caramelised cocoa pieces)
• Kit Kat Delight — Italy
• Kit Kat Family Block — Australia (twelve finger family size bar)
• Kit Kat Family Block Chocolate Overload — Australia
• Kit Kat I-Stick — Japan limited edition (creamy bitter chocolate between wafers and dark chocolate coating, two stick format sold in cooler or freezer section of stores)
• Kit Kat Stick — Japan (box of individually wrapped long Kit Kat fingers)
• Kit Kat Stick Almond — Japan
• Kit Kat Stick Half Bitter — Japan
• Kit Kat Tablet — France (same as Kit Kat Family Block)
• Kit Kat Ball — France (bag of round bite-size pieces)
• Kit Kat Bites — US, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand (similar to Kit Kat ball)
• Kit Kat Little — Japan (newer version of Kit Kat Baby)
• Kit Kat Pop Choc — UK, Germany, Poland, The Netherlands, Sweden
• Kit Kat Kubes — UK (square-shaped miniature pieces)
• Kit Kat Chunky — The Netherlands (bigger size Kit Kat Chunky)
• Kit Kat Senses; Czech Republic, Canada, Poland, Saudi Arabia, UK and Ireland (hazelnut praline centered)^[27]
• Kit Kat Senses Easter Egg — UK (chocolate egg with a Senses bar)
• Kit Kat Chunky Duo — UK (a little larger than a Kit Kat Chunky King size, and split into two separate bars)
• Kit Kat (Finger size) — Pakistan (almost half the size of a Kit Kat bar)
• Kit Kat Watermelon Minis — Japan^[28]
• Kit Kat Black Sugar Minis — Japan^[26]
• Kit Kat Cone — Japan, Denmark ,UK (ice-cream cone with vanilla ice-cream covered in chocolate with a single Kit Kat stick in the top)
• Kit Kat Caramel Pudding Minis — Japan
• Kit Kat Little with Chili Powder — Japan
• Kit Kat Orange
• Kit Kat Mint
• Kit Kat - Dark Chocolate

Boycott

In March 2010, KitKat was targeted for a boycott by Greenpeace for using irresponsibly sourced palm oil, which the environmental organization claimed resulted in destruction of forest habitats for orangutans in Indonesia. .^[29] A YouTube video by Greenpeace went "viral" ^[30] and Nestle eventually agreed to Greenpeace terms, committing to removing deforestation from all products.^[31]

Ingredients

Original Kit Kat ingredients unless otherwise stated, listed by decreasing weight:

UK

Milk chocolate (66%) (sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, dried skimmed milk, whey powder, butterfat, vegetable fat, lactose, emulsifier (soya lecithin), flavouring), wheat flour, sugar, vegetable fat, cocoa mass, yeast, raising agent (sodium bicarbonate), salt, calcium sulphate (a.k.a food-grade gypsum), flavouring. In 2006, the UK four-finger Kit Kat contained 233 dietary calories (kcal) (975 kilojoules). In 2009, the two-finger Kit Kat contained 107 calories.^[32][33]

Golden ticket draw

During the first three weeks of Big Brother Series 7, Channel 4 conducted a promotion in conjunction with Nestle to distribute 100 "golden tickets" randomly throughout Kit Kats, in a style reminiscent of the story Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Members of the public finding these tickets were permitted to use them to give themselves a chance to become a Big Brother housemate and bypass the standard auditions process.

Golden ticket holders were invited to a television show where one of them, Susie Verrico, was chosen to enter the House by Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace, picking a ball out of a machine at random.

This contest caused some controversy, with the Advertising Standards Authority saying that the terms and conditions of the draw should have been made clearer in related advertisements, and that an independent adjudicator should have been present before and during the draw.^[34]

USA

Hershey's Kit Kat Crisp Wafers In Chocolate [1 oz] Sugar, Wheat Flour, Cocoa Butter, Nonfat Milk, Chocolate, Refined Palm Kernel Oil, Lactose (Milk)Milk Fat, contains 2% or Less of: Soy Lecithin, PGPR (Emulsifier), Yeast, Artificial Flavor, Salt, and Sodium Bicarbonate.

Canada

Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Modified Milk Ingredients, Cocoa Butter, Unsweetened Chocolate, Lactose, Soya Lecithin, Polyglycerol Polyricnoleate, Artificial Flavour), Wheat Flour, Sugar, Modified Palm Oil, Unsweetened Chocolate or Cocoa Powder, Sodium Bicarbonate, Soya Lecithin, Artificial Flavour. May contain Salt and Yeast, Kit Kat Creamier Chocolate* (Chocolat Plus Onctueux*), (Special limited time offer in Canada),

Dark form

Dark Chocolate (Sugar, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Milk Ingredients, Soya Lecithin, Salt, Artificial Flavour), Wheat Flour, Sugar, Modified Palm Oil, Unsweetened Chocolate or Cocoa Powder, Sodium Bicarbonate, Soya Lecithin, Artificial Flavour. May contain Salt and/or Yeast.

Asia

Nestlé has factories in various locations in China, to supply to China and Hong Kong. During the 2008 Chinese milk scandal, where melamine was found to have tainted some milk suppliers in China, importers in Hong Kong chose to import British versions of the chocolate bar.

References

External links

• Nestlé: Kit Kat
• The Hershey Company: Kit Kat