Nestlé launches investigation after theft of 413,000 new KitKat series ahead of Easter
Jen Lindsey-Clark worked her chocolate magic again, devising a special car for KitKat and F1 in York - with the company subsequently seeing 400,000 special bars stolen between Italy and Poland. Pic: Nestle
An investigation has been launched by Nestlé, as a lorry transporting 12 tons of KitKat bars across Italy to Poland was stolen ahead of the crucial Easter market, reports Neill Barston.
The incident, which happened on Saturday, is said to have involved a single truck carrying some 413,793 bars of the flagship chocolate product, with the exact location of its disappearance not revealed.
Confectionery Production understands the stolen line of chocolate relates to its new Formula One linked-products, with mini bars representing in the form of racing cars in celebration of its recent deal to become the official confectionery partner of the key motorsports series.
KitKat has created a sector first with an F1 shaped choc treat marking its collaboration with the motorsports. world. pic: Nestle
As our title reported, to mark the deal, the company had employed West-Sussex based chocolatier Jen Lindsey-Clark, who has studios in Worthing, to design a life-size chocolate F1 car, which has been displayed at the company’s key KitKat production facilities in York.
“It was a brilliant project, but it was tight on time to get it done, so it was all hands on deck to get it done,” explained Jen, known as the “Chocolatician.” of her F1 life-size sculpture, which gained a wealth of national headlines.
The highly creative chocolatier has previously gained recognition for her major works including a chocolate version of Willy Wonka star Timothee Chalamet for Warner Brothers Studies, a similar project on actor Benedict Cumberbatch surrounding his Sherlock Holmes series for the BBC, as well as a full-scale chocolate-based bust of King Charles III, marking his coronation in 2023.
As for the chocolate theft, the Swiss headquartered company has reportedly stated that the huge haul of chocolate can be identified by individual batch numbers – making theft of the load more traceable.
In a statement on the missing chocolate, Nestlé said: “We’ve always encouraged people to have a break with KitKat, but it seems thieves have taken the message too literally and made a break with more than 12 tons of our chocolate,” adding that sophisticated schemes in terms of thefts are being deployed on an increasing basis.
In an update, the company confirmed the theft had occurred while one of its vehicles was in transit between its factory in central Italy, and its expected destination of Poland.
The company added: “We are working with local authorities and supply chain partners to investigate. The good news is that there are no concerns for customer safety, and supply is not affected.”
