Editing Kit Kat (section)

== History ==
Use of the name Kit Kat or Kit Cat for a type of food goes back to the 18th century, when [[Scotch pie|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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Room 9: The Kit-cat Club |url=https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/display/room-by-room/room-9-the-kit-cat-club.php |access-date=10 July 2021 |agency=National Portrait Gallery |archive-date=10 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210710131320/https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/display/room-by-room/room-9-the-kit-cat-club.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The origins of what is now known as the Kit Kat brand go back to 1911, when [[Rowntree's]], a confectionery company based in [[York]], England, 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 (chocolates)|Black Magic]] and Dairy Box brands. With the promotion of alternative products, the Kit Cat brand decreased and was eventually discontinued.<ref name="Kk1">{{cite web|url=http://www.nestle.com/MediaCenter/NewsandFeatures/AllNewsFeatures/Happy-75th-birthday-KitKat.htm |title=Happy 75th birthday Kit Kat |publisher=Nestlé |access-date=10 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101015224428/http://www.nestle.com/MediaCenter/NewsandFeatures/AllNewsFeatures/Happy-75th-birthday-KitKat.htm |archive-date=15 October 2010 }}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/8446094.KitKat___s_75th_anniversary_heralded/|title=KitKat's 75th anniversary heralded|newspaper=[[The Press]]|location=[[Christchurch]], New Zealand|date=12 October 2010|access-date=4 May 2013}}</ref> The bar was officially launched in September 1935, under the title of Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp (priced at 2[[Penny (British pre-decimal coin)|d]]), and was sold in London and throughout southern England.<ref name="professional">{{cite web|title=The History of Kit Kat|url=http://www.nestleprofessional.com/uk/en/SiteArticles/Pages/History_of_KitKat.aspx|publisher=[[Nestlé]]|access-date=4 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102073613/https://www.nestleprofessional.com/uk/en/SiteArticles/Pages/History_of_KitKat.aspx|archive-date=2 November 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:HK Shau Kei Wan 香港海防博物館 Museum of Coastal Defence HKMCD British foods 1940s Rowntree's Kit Kat Chocolate.JPG|thumb|upright=1.1|left|Exhibit of British foods in the 1940s during World War II. Pictured in replica wartime packaging, [[Rowntree's]] Kit Kat returned to red packaging after the war.<ref name="First commercial"/>]]
Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp was renamed Kit Kat Chocolate Crisp in 1937.<ref name="Archive"/><ref name="Kk1"/> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://popsop.com/39282 |title=Kit Kat Turns 75 |publisher=Popsop |location=[[Stevenage]], England |date=11 October 2010 |access-date=4 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620212415/http://popsop.com/39282 |archive-date=20 June 2013 }}</ref> After the war the name became Kit Kat, with the original milk chocolate recipe and red packaging.<ref name="First commercial"/>

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".<ref name="Slogan"/> 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 Co.|Fujiya]].<ref name="Kk1"/>

[[File:Kit-Kat-Split.jpg|thumb|4-fingered Kit Kat split in half]]
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,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.netnewspublisher.com/iconic-brand-kit-kat-celebrating-its-75th-year/ |title=Kit Kat Celebrates its 75th Anniversary |work=Net News Publisher |date=12 October 2010 |access-date=4 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120172601/http://www.netnewspublisher.com/iconic-brand-kit-kat-celebrating-its-75th-year/ |archive-date=20 January 2013 }}</ref> and production and distribution increased with new facilities in Japan and additional manufacturing operations set up in Malaysia, India and China.<ref name="Kk1"/>

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 which allowed Hershey to retain the Kit Kat licence so long as Hershey was not sold.<ref name="NYTimes"/> Nestlé, which has a substantial presence in the US, had to honour the licensing agreement when it bought Rowntree in 1988. 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.confectionerynews.com/Markets/Nestle-quiet-on-Hershey-sale|title=Nestlé quiet on Hershey sale|work=Confectionery News|publisher=[[William Reed Business Media]]|date=5 August 2002|access-date=5 May 2013}}</ref> Even Nestlé rejected Hershey's asking price.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sorkin|first=Andrew Ross|agency=[[New York Times]]|url=http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Possible-buyers-seller-far-apart-on-Hershey-sale-2778035.php|title=Possible buyers, seller far apart on Hershey sale / Price and politics are obstacles|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|publisher=[[Hearst Corporation|Hearst Communications]]|location=San Francisco|date=27 August 2002|access-date=4 May 2013}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/01/16/nestle-selling-its-u-s-candy-business-ferrero-2-9-b/1036675001/|title=Nestle is selling its U.S. candy business to Ferrero for about $2.8 billion|work=USA TODAY|access-date=17 January 2018|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116201658/https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/01/16/nestle-selling-its-u-s-candy-business-ferrero-2-9-b/1036675001/|archive-date=16 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Bench King's Square York.jpg|thumb|Bench with Kit Kat advertising in [[York]] (where the bar was created) to mark National Chocolate Week in the UK in 2018]]
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]].<ref name="Kk1"/>  Throughout the decade, Kit Kat introduced dozens of flavours and line extensions within specific consumer markets. In September 2010, Kit Kat (and [[Aero (chocolate bar)|Aero]]) celebrated its 75th anniversary.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nestlé open days celebrate 75th anniversary of KitKat and Aero |url=https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/8415323.nestle-open-days-celebrate-75th-anniversary-of-kitkat-and-aero/ |access-date=24 November 2021 |work=York Press}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite news |title=Nestlé celebrates the 75th year of KIT KAT  |url=https://www.nestle.co.uk/en-gb/media/pressreleases/nestlecelebratesthe75thyearofkitkat |access-date=24 November 2021 |work=Nestle}}</ref>

The traditional bar has four fingers which each measure approximately {{convert|1|cm|in|1}} by {{convert|9|cm|in|1}}. A two-finger bar was launched in the 1930s, and has remained the company's best-selling [[biscuit]] brand ever since.<ref name="professional"/>  The 1999 Kit Kat Chunky (known as Big Kat and Kit Kat Extra Crispy in the US) has one large finger approximately {{convert|2.5|cm|in|0}} 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.