Web Page 3081 23rd June 2023 First Picture: Kit Kat

Second Picture: Orange Kit Kat

Third Picture: Chunky Kit Kat

Forth Picture: Vegan Kit Kat

Kit Kat Kit Kat the chocolate covered wafer was created by Rowntree's of Yorknand is now produced by Nestlé (which acquired Rowntree's in 1988, except in the United States, where it is made under licence by a division of the Hershey Company . The standard bars consist of two or four pieces composed of three layers of wafer, separated and covered by an outer layer of chocolate. There are many flavours of Kit Kat, including milk, white, and dark chocolate. The original four-finger version was developed after a worker at Rowntree's factory put forward a suggestion for a chocolate bar that a man could take to work in his lunch pack. It was launched in September 1935 in the UK as Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp, and the later two-finger version was launched in 1936. It was renamed Kit Kat Chocolate Crisp in 1937, and just Kit Kat after World War II. Since making its first television appearance in a UK commercial in 1958, the slogan for the Kit Kat in the UK and elsewhere has been "Have a break... have a Kit Kat". Use of the name Kit Kat goes back to the 18th century, when mutton pies known as a Kit Kat were served at meetings of the political Kit-Cat Club in London owned by pastry chef Christopher Cat. The origins of what is now known as the Kit Kat brand go back to 1911, when Rowntree's trademarked the terms Kit Cat and Kit Kat. The names were not used immediately and Kit Kat first appeared in the 1920s, when Rowntree's 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. Kit Cat decreased and was eventually discontinued. The bar was officially 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. Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp was renamed Kit Kat Chocolate Crisp in 1937. The colour scheme and first flavour variation 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 chocolate; the packaging abandoned its Chocolate Crisp title, and was coloured blue. After the war the name became Kit Kat, with the original milk chocolate recipe and red packaging[. Following its success in the UK in the 1940s Kit Kat was exported to Canada, South Africa, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. In 1957, Donald Gilles, 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 US through the Hershey company, and in Japan through Fujiya In June 1988, Swiss company Nestlé acquired Kit Kat through the purchase of Rowntree's, giving Nestlé global control over the brand, except in the US, and production and distribution increased with new facilities in Japan and additional manufacturing operations set up in Malaysia, India and China. Variants in the traditional chocolate bar first appeared in 1996 when Kit Kat Orange was introduced in the UK. 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. Kit Kat bars are produced in 16 countries. 2003 was a turning point for the Kit Kat bar. The popularity of low carb diets, and healthier eating stifled sales in many parts of the world. In addition competition from Cadbury's newly formed Dairy Milk superbrand contributed to Kit Kat sales decreasing considerably in its home market. . In September 2006, Nestlé announced that they would be cutting 645 jobs in their York factory and moving all Smarties production to their Hamburg factory. In 2010, a new £5 million manufacturing line was opened by Nestlé in York, to produce more than one billion Kit Kat bars each year. As dark chocolate has seen increased demand in September 2006 the four-finger Kit Kat Fine Dark was launched in the United Kingdom as a permanent product. Nestlé now manufactures two-finger Kit Kats with natural flavourings, and in February 2021 announced the rollout of the first vegan Kit Kat, called "KitKat V". Sometimes considered a biscuit, in 2020 sales of Kit Kats were second to McVitie's biscuits in the UK in the biscuit category. Stay in touch Peter gsseditor@gmail.com