Editing Kit Kat (section)

== Global confection ==
[[File:KitKat World Map.png|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Map of countries where Kit Kat is marketed. '''Dark Red''': UK (country of origin). '''Red''': Countries with KitKat products owned by Nestlé. '''Light Red''': Countries with KitKat products manufactured by Hershey (US).]]
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 [[Cadbury Dairy Milk|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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3560857.stm |title=Fat profits: Choc tactics |work=[[BBC News]] |date=24 March 2004 |access-date=4 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3315183.stm |title=Consumers 'snub unhealthy brands' |work=[[BBC News]] |publisher=[[BBC|British Broadcasting Corporation]] |location=London |date=13 December 2003 |access-date=4 May 2013}}</ref> 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 [[Special edition|limited or special editions]], usually only available for a few months at a time so as not lose sales of their standard products.<ref>{{cite news |last=Uhlig |first=Robert |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1454755/Cheesecake-Kit-Kat-Give-us-a-break.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1454755/Cheesecake-Kit-Kat-Give-us-a-break.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Cheesecake Kit Kat? Give us a break |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |publisher=[[Telegraph Media Group|Telegraph Group]] |location=London |date=19 February 2004 |access-date=4 May 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The strategy initially reversed the decline of the Kit Kat<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.irn-talkingshop.co.uk/categorymanager/nestlerowntree/nestle%20temp/pressrelease/Lemon%20Yoghurt%20Boosts%20Kit%20Kat.pdf |title=Lemon Yoghurt Boosts Kit Kat }}{{Dead link|date=December 2010}}</ref> and has been adopted worldwide by Nestlé, [[Hershey Company|Hershey]], [[Mars Incorporated|Mars]], and others with similar success.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Business/story?id=950088& |title=Limited Editions Are Latest Candy Craze |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=18 July 2005 |access-date=4 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Abelson |first=Jenn |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/05/02/limited_edition_candies_sweeten_the_marketplace/ |title=Limited-edition candies sweeten the marketplace |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]  |location=[[Boston]] |date=2 May 2005 |access-date=4 May 2013}}{{subscription required}}</ref> This has resulted in many new flavours and varieties of the Kit Kat and other confections appearing globally since then.

[[File:Japanese kit Kat varieties.jpg|thumb|upright|Kit Kat varieties on display in Osaka, Japan where the bar is seen as an "obsession"<ref name="NYTimes"/>]]

In September 2006, Nestlé announced that they would be cutting 645 jobs in their [[York]] factory and moving all [[Smarties]] production to their [[Hamburg]] factory, which had already made up for two-thirds of production. They stated that this move would allow for a £20 million investment to modernise the antiquated York factory and improve Kit Kat production.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2006/sep/21/food.foodanddrink |title=645 jobs lost as Nestlé ships Smarties abroad |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 September 2006 |access-date=14 July 2017}}</ref> In 2010, a new £5&nbsp;million manufacturing line was opened by Nestlé in York, to produce more than one billion Kit Kat bars each year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nestle.com/Media/NewsAndFeatures/Pages/Nestles-new-UK-wafer-line-part-of-three-year-GBP-15m-investment.aspx|title=Nestlé's new UK wafer line to boost Kit Kat production|publisher=[[Nestlé]]|date=20 December 2010|access-date=4 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102153816/http://www.nestle.com/Media/NewsAndFeatures/Pages/Nestles-new-UK-wafer-line-part-of-three-year-GBP-15m-investment.aspx|archive-date=2 November 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

As [[Chocolate#Classification|dark chocolate]] has seen increased demand and favour worldwide because of its purported health benefits, in September 2006 the four-finger Kit Kat Fine Dark was launched in the United Kingdom as a permanent product. Hershey had sold the four-finger Kit Kat Dark in the US several years previously as a limited edition, and began doing so again.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thehersheycompany.com/contact-us/locate-hard-to-find-products.aspx |title=Hersheys Product Locator |publisher=[[The Hershey Company]] |access-date=6 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125135049/http://www.thehersheycompany.com/contact-us/locate-hard-to-find-products.aspx |archive-date=25 November 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Nestlé now manufactures two-finger Kit Kats with natural flavourings, and in February 2021 announced the rollout of the first vegan Kit Kat, called "KitKat V".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nestle.com/media/news/nestle-first-vegan-kitkat-coming-soon|title=Nestlé's first vegan KitKat is coming soon!|date=15 February 2021|website=Nestle|access-date=15 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Valinsky |first1=Jordan |title=Nestlé's newest KitKat is missing a key ingredient |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/16/business/vegan-kitkat-launch-trnd/index.html |access-date=17 March 2023 |work=CNN |date=16 February 2021 |language=en}}</ref> In 2014, Kit Kat was ranked the third best selling chocolate bar in the United Kingdom, after [[Cadbury Dairy Milk|Dairy Milk]] and [[Galaxy (chocolate)|Galaxy]].<ref>[http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/nations-favourite-chocolate-bars-revealed-7938048 "Top 10 selling chocolate bars in the UK"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205025032/http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/nations-favourite-chocolate-bars-revealed-7938048 |date=5 December 2014 }}. Wales Online. Retrieved 28 December 2014.</ref>
Sometimes considered a [[biscuit]], in 2020 sales of Kit Kats were second to [[McVitie's]] biscuits in the UK in the biscuit category.<ref>{{cite news |title=Biscuits: Taste for nostalgia grows biccies |url=https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/top-products/biscuits-top-products-report-2020/651364.article |access-date=26 August 2021 |work=The Grocer}}</ref>