Footer text edit on Master REFORMULATING THE UK’S ICONIC KITKAT Overcoming the challenges to remove Saturated Fat
Footer text edit on Master
REFORMULATING THE UK’S ICONIC KITKAT
Overcoming the challenges to remove Saturated Fat
Footer text edit on Master
KITKAT – A Global Brand
• York has been the home of KITKAT for over 79 years
• Over a billion KITKAT bars are made in the York
factory each year – making up to 8 million a day
• KITKAT is the most popular confectionery brand in
the world, sold in more countries than any other –
over 17.8 billion fingers eaten a year
• KITKAT has been through a journey to deliver a
product with an improved nutritional value with the
same grate taste and enjoyment for our consumers
Footer text edit on Master
Footer text edit on Master
What’s in my food?
Where does it comefrom?
How was it made?
Consumer preference
Responsiblesourcing
Nutrition, health and wellness
Environmental sustainability
Permissibility approach+
< 250 calories
Footer text edit on Master
October 2013:
Nestlé UK & Ireland announced that it was
reformulating it’s iconic KITKAT bar, which would
result in the removal of 3,800 tonnes of saturated fat
from the diet, improving the nutritional profile of the
product.
Footer text edit on Master
Our saturated fat journey
• At Nestlé, our aim is to enhance consumers’ lives with foods and beverages that not
only taste delicious, but offer healthier choices too
• We know that consumers are looking for healthier choices that do not compromise on
taste
• In 2010, the team set themselves a task to review and develop the KITKAT recipe to
improve its nutritional credentials while maintaining the taste that UK consumers love
• A cross functional team of Nestlé scientists, factory technicians, marketing, purchasing
and nutritionists worked with our key suppliers
• After 3 years of plant trials, product approval and engineering changes, we were able
to launch our KITKAT recipe with a av.10% reduction in saturated fat.
Footer text edit on Master
KITKAT – The Technical development
• KITKAT is made of layers of wafer filled with a chocolate praline filling and moulded
into the iconic shape of KitKat
• Vegetable fat is present in the KITKAT filling and chocolate shell, with a tiny amount
present in the wafer
• Directive 2000/36/EC of the European Parliament controls the formulation of
Chocolate, in particular the cocoa butter content (rich in saturated fat) and type of
fats in chocolate
• Re-defining the vegetable fat in the filling was the main area of focus
Wafer
Praline
Footer text edit on Master
The Recipe Challenge
• As fats become less saturated they become softer and more
liquid (oils)
• The challenge: to identify a fat with the correct melting /
cooling properties to work in our manufacturing plant and to
produce the iconic KITKAT crisp ‘snap’
• Multiple development steps in the laboratory with special fat
melting/cooling equipment testing fats
• Once finalised, the fat then had to be tested in the praline
filling to ensure taste and texture were maintained
• Validation at pilot plant scale to test functionality in
production; reducing the risk of failure before moving to plant
trials
� Any manufacturing issue is a loss to efficiency on the line
Footer text edit on Master
Manufacturing challenges
• The filling fat must maintain the same proven functionality across the process – from liquid to
solid at the right time
• It is necessary to avoid any major impact on a 79 years, finely tuned, efficient KITKAT process
• It was all about temperature; tests during winter highlighted problems in the cold weather
• Costly plant stoppages
• Re-develop the new fat, additional time to repeat trials and product tests
• Investment line alterations to keep a robust, efficient process, regardless of the weather!
Footer text edit on Master
KITKAT Filling Production; not a simple process
Footer text edit on Master
Results – av.10% reduction in saturated fat
For all KITKAT made in York, so what worked……
• Team Work: Multi- discipline team with fat chemistry experts, suppliers, engineers, nutritionists, KitKat technical experts, planners, marketing
• Clear project plan with realistic timing in place
• Budget agreed and communicated internally
• Factory input - support for trials and input from operators to overcome problems
• Robust process and product testing
• Can do attitude – real benefit to the business, consumer and the nutritional profile of KitKat
• Aligned to Nestlé global strategy and Nutritional Policy
Footer text edit on Master
KITKAT: An Iconic Brand now with less saturated fat…..
2 finger KITKAT
Before 3.3g Now 2.9g saturated fat per bar
4 finger KITKAT
Before 7.2g Now 6.4g
saturated fat per bar
KITKAT CHUNKY
Before 7.8g Now 6.9g saturated fat per bar
Footer text edit on Master
Reformulating the UK’s Iconic KITKAT
A journey that goes beyond the factory gates
Addressing relevant consumer nutrition, health and wellness concerns
Creating tastier, more responsible products
Enhancing our consumer’s enjoyment and experience of the product