Thieves in Europe made off with a truckload of KitKat chocolate bars last week, putting more than 413,793 units of the brand’s new chocolate range at risk of never reaching store shelves just days before Easter.
The truck set off from central Italy bound for Poland but never reached its scheduled final destination. Nestle said the vehicle and its contents remain unaccounted for and did not disclose where exactly along the route it disappeared.
Investigations are ongoing in close collaboration with local authorities and supply chain partners, Nestle said.
The Swiss food giant warned that the missing chocolate bars could enter unofficial sales channels across European markets and that shoppers may have difficulty finding KitKats on shelves in the lead-up to the holiday.
KitKat said the stolen bars can be tracked. Anyone scanning the batch numbers on the missing chocolate would receive instructions on how to contact KitKat, which said it would then pass the evidence along to the appropriate authorities.
The company managed to find some humor in the situation. Playing off its famous tagline, a spokesperson said it seemed the thieves had taken the brand’s long-running “have a break” message too literally. In a separate statement, KitKat added that while it appreciated the criminals’ discerning palate, cargo theft remains a growing problem for businesses of all sizes.
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