A vehicle carrying greater than 400,000 KitKat bars was stolen while in transit from its production site in Italy to a delivery location in Poland, the chocolate bar’s parent company, Nestlé, has confirmed.
In response to the Swiss manufacturer, about 12 tons of chocolate disappeared last week and haven’t been recovered. In an update on Friday, the corporate said, “The vehicle and its load are still nowhere to be found.”
The chocolate bars were set to be distributed across Europe, with KitKat responding on Sunday to stories that a big chunk of its chocolate supply had veered off track.
“We’re working closely with local authorities and provide chain networks to research,” it said in an X post.
The stolen bars were from KitKat’s recent Formula 1 line, which it introduced after becoming the game’s official chocolate partner last 12 months, The Guardian reported. Nestlé also warned the lack of the shipment could mean the chocolates find yourself in unofficial markets.
The stolen chocolates were reportedly constructed like racing cars and crammed with the brand’s signature wafer.
In a separate statement, a KitKat spokesperson told NBC News and several other other outlets that every one its products may be traced using a novel batch code assigned to each bar, meaning consumers, wholesalers and retailers would have the option to discover whether their KitKat is a component of a stolen shipment by scanning a code on the packaging.
If it’s found to be stolen, the person in possession can be given instructions on how you can alert the corporate, which can then inform investigators.
KitKit didn’t shrink back from making light of the situation.
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“Whilst we appreciate the criminals’ exceptional taste, the very fact stays that cargo theft is an escalating issue for businesses of all sizes,” the spokesperson said.
With more sophisticated schemes being deployed regularly, we’ve chosen to go public with our own experience within the hope that it raises awareness of an increasingly common criminal trend,” they continued.
In a separate statement to the Latest York Times, the corporate confirmed that no person was injured within the heist and even played on KitKat’s famous slogan.
“We’ve at all times encouraged people to have a break with KITKAT — nevertheless it seems thieves have taken the message too literally and made a break with greater than 12 tonnes of our chocolate,” it reads.
Several corporations and other entities have responded to the news of the chocolate thefts, including Irish airline Ryanair, which posted an image on X of considered one of its planes with a fake mouth stuffed with KitKats.
Montreal’s tourism board joked that it was releasing a brand new KitKat-flavoured bagel.
Domino’s U.K., in a joke statement mimicking the tone of KitKat’s announcement, said on X that it was releasing a brand new KitKat Pizza.
Tampa International Airport also commented in jest on X, saying it sent its heart out to KitKat, adding that Phoebe, a 21-foot-tall pink flamingo sculpture situated within the foremost terminal, can be handing out little pieces of chocolate over Easter.
Crumbl Cookie also chimed in on the banter, posting that it had nothing to do with the missing chocolates alongside a picture of a brand new cookie topped with KitKat crumbs.
The theft of the bars isn’t a one-off. In response to KitKat, it “comes shortly after a joint report from the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) and the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) EMEA, which outlined an alarming rise in cargo theft and freight fraud — with more sophisticated methods of deception becoming increasingly common.”
The corporate added that there isn’t a risk related to the stolen goods and that its partners have been notified of the theft.
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