Kit Kat
🥚 VegetarianKit Kat is a chocolate-coated wafer bar first made by Rowntree's in York, England, and now one of the best-selling chocolate bars in the world. Its long history, international reach and constant flow of flavours make it a familiar reference in modern confectionery.
History
The original bar dates from 1935, when a worker at Rowntree's York factory suggested, through the company's recommendation box, a snack that a man could carry to work in his packed lunch. It went on sale in the UK in September 1935 as Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp, priced at two pence, in a four-finger version; a two-finger bar followed in 1936. The name changed to Kit Kat Chocolate Crisp in 1937 and, after the Second World War, to plain Kit Kat.
The name had earlier roots. Rowntree's had trademarked Kit Cat and Kit Kat in 1911 and used the name for a boxed chocolate line in the 1920s. Wartime shortages led to a change of recipe and packaging, but the milk chocolate version returned afterwards. The bar was exported in the 1940s to Canada, South Africa, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
Nestlé acquired Rowntree's in 1988 and took the brand into new markets, while in the United States the bar has been made under licence by Hershey since 1970. The chunkier Kit Kat Chunky appeared in 1999, and the range has grown steadily since.
Culture
In Britain Kit Kat is part of everyday life, a staple of offices, schools and journeys, and one of the leading chocolate bars there, as it is in the United States and Canada. Its slogan, "Have a break... have a Kit Kat", first appeared in a British television advert in 1958 and remains one of the most recognisable advertising lines in the country.
Japan has the largest number of variants, with more than three hundred models sold, including flavours such as green tea, wasabi, soy and red beans, and local editions linked to cities such as Tokyo and Kyoto. This variety has made the bar a popular gift and collectors' item. In recent years the brand has also relied on limited editions to compete with rival chocolate bars in markets such as the UK.
Milk chocolate is the traditional recipe, but dark, white and mini versions now sit alongside it, and each country adapts the product to local tastes.