History
Use of the name Kit Kat or Kit Cat for a type of food goes back to the 18th century, when mutton pies known as Kit Kats were served at meetings of the political Kit-Cat Club in London owned by pastry chef Christopher Cat.[8]
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. With the promotion of alternative products, the Kit Cat brand decreased and was eventually discontinued.[9] 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".[10] The bar was officially launched in September 1935, under the title of Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp (priced at 2d) and was sold in London and throughout southern England.[11]
Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp was renamed as Kit Kat Chocolate Crisp in 1937.[6][9] 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 chocolate; the packaging abandoned its Chocolate Crisp title and was coloured blue.[12] After the war the name became Kit Kat, with the original milk chocolate recipe and red packaging.
Following its success in the United Kingdom, in the 1940s, Kit Kat was exported to Canada, South Africa, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. In 1957, Donald Gilles, the executive at JWT London, created the iconic advertising line "Have a Break, Have a Kit Kat".[5] 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.[9]
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[13] and production and distribution increased with new facilities in Japan and additional manufacturing operations set up in Malaysia, India and China.[9]
The Hershey Company has a licence to produce Kit Kat bars in the United States which dates from 1970, when Hershey executed a licensing agreement with Rowntree's.[3] The perpetual agreement includes a "change of control" opt-out clause, allowing Hershey to retain the Kit Kat licence so long as Hershey is not sold. Nestlé, which has a substantial presence in the US, had to honour the licensing agreement when it bought Rowntree in 1988.[14] As Kit Kat is one of Hershey's top five brands in the US market, the Kit Kat licence was a key factor in Hershey's failed attempt to attract a serious buyer in 2002.[15] Even Nestlé rejected Hershey's asking price.[16] Nestlé's sale of its US confectionery business to Ferrara Candy Company in 2018 did not impact the Kit Kat bar and thus rights would revert directly to Nestlé and not Ferrara in the event of a sale of Hershey.[17]
Variants in the traditional chocolate bar first appeared in 1996 when Kit Kat Orange, the first flavour variant, 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. Variations on the traditional Kit Kat have continued to be developed since then. 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.[9] Throughout the decade, Kit Kat introduced dozens of flavours and line extensions within specific consumer markets. In September 2010, Kit Kat (and Aero) celebrated its 75th anniversary.[18] Nestlé stated, "Since that momentous day in 1935, Kit Kat has firmly established itself in British culture, spreading its chocolate fingers far and wide that is sold in more countries than any other chocolate brand".[19]
The traditional bar has four fingers which each measure approximately 1 cm by 9 cm. A two-finger bar was launched in the 1930s and has remained the company's best-selling biscuit brand ever since.[11] The 1999 Kit Kat Chunky (known as Big Kat and Kit Kat Extra Crispy in the US) has one large finger approximately 2.5 cm 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 and the twelve-finger family-size bars in Australia and France. Kit Kat bars are sold individually and in bags, boxes and multi-packs.
