Kit Kat is a chocolate-covered wafer bar created by Rowntree's of York and now produced globally by Nestlé. It consists of layers of wafer separated and covered by chocolate. In recent years, Kit Kat faced a crisis as its four-finger shape trademark was annulled in the EU. However, Nestlé has introduced many new variants of Kit Kat around the world to boost sales, such as luxury Kit Kat Rubies launched in Malaysia, using premium ingredients. While some have criticized ingredients like palm oil, Nestlé aims to achieve sustainable sourcing.

1. CRITICAL SITUATION IN AN ORGANISATION & MANAGERIAL
SOLUTION
 NAME: T. Akshara
 Reg. no.: RA1952001020033
 Branch: MBA
 Section: “ A “

3. INTRODUCTION
 Kit Kat is a chocolate-covered wafer bar
confection created by Rowntree's of York,
United Kingdom, and is now produced
globally by Nestlé, which acquired Rowntree
in 1988, with the exception of the United
States, where it is made under license by H.B.
Reese Candy Company, 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.
 Each finger can be snapped from the bar
separately. There are many different flavours
of Kit Kat, including milk, white, and dark
chocolate.
 The original four-finger version of the bar
was developed after a worker at York’s
Rowntree's factory put a suggestion in the
recommendation box for a snack that a "man
could have in his lunch box for work".
 Since 1957, the slogan for the Kit Kat in the
UK and elsewhere has been "Have a break...
have a Kit Kat".

4. global confection
 Kit Kat bars are produced in 16 countries by Nestlé: Brazil, Mexico, United Kingdom,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Germany, Russia, Japan, China,
Malaysia, Thailand, India, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria and Algeria. 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 Kit Kat sales decreasing considerably in its home market of the UK,
and threatened to depose it from its No.1 position.
 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, usually only available for a few months at a time so as not lose sales of their
standard products.
 The strategy initially reversed the decline of the Kit Kat and has been adopted
worldwide by Nestlé, Hershey, Mars, and others with similar success.

5. crisis in kitkat
 In July 2018 the more than decade-long legal battle to protect the “four-
fingered” shape of Nestlé’s KitKat bar concluded with KitKat losing its
appeal against Kvikk Lunsj (owned by Cadbury, now Mondelez) a
Norwegian four-fingered chocolate biscuit.
 KitKat’s EU shape trade mark is annulled, meaning the Kit Kat shape is no
longer a valid trade mark across the EU. It is now only valid in member
states where Nestlé has made a successful application as a national trade
mark.
 Outside of chocolate, litigation has also arisen from less digestible shapes
such as London black cabs and LEGO blocks, in both cases where trade
marks on shape were unsuccessfully defended.
 Dispute over shapes is complex in trade mark law.
 It can be a more straightforward prospect to protect a word as a trade mark –
and the KitKat name itself is. Marks like KitKat are inherently distinctive,
meaning they’re made up, so only have meaning in relation to that brand.

6. CRITICISM
 In March 2010, Kit Kat was targeted for a boycott by Greenpeace for using palm oil,
which the environmental organisation claimed resulted in destruction of forest habitats
for orangutans in Indonesia.
 A YouTube video by Greenpeace went viral] and Nestlé announced a partnership with
The Forest Trust to establish "responsible sourcing guidelines" and ensure that its
products did not have a deforestation footprint.
 They aimed to achieve a fully sustainable method of palm oil harvesting by 2015. Nestlé
state that 58% of palm oil purchased in 2017 was responsibly sourced.
 Kit Kat Milk Chocolate is made for the North American market with the ingredient
PGPR (polyglycerol polyricinoleate, E476, AKA Palsgaard PGPR 4150), which is used
to reduce the amount of cocoa butter needed and as an emulsifier.
 The FDA has determined it to be safe for humans in amounts up to 7.5 milligrams per
kilogram of body weight. "Liver and kidney enlargement was noticed at much higher
doses."

8. SOLUTION
 In 2015, a new luxury and giftable variant of Kit Kat called Kit
Kat Rubies was launched in Malaysia.
 Comes with the box of 20 small bars, the Kit Kat Rubies bar made
with the premium chocolate truffle cream and imported roasted
hazelnut pieces.
 As of 2017, U.S. variants include the standard and king-size four-
finger bars, standard bars covered with white or dark chocolate,
snack-size orange-covered bars for Halloween, bagged wrapped
one-finger miniatures, unwrapped minis, a redesigned Big Kat, and
a king-size Big Kat and new Big Kat bars.
 The 'standard' Kit Kat finger bars can come in a variety of
presentations and nutritional values. 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.

10. reference
• Nestlé UK Website- History of
Rowntree
• The Origin of the name Kit Kat
• Nestlé's new UK wafer line to boost
Kit Kat production