KitKat thieves make a break for it, steal more than 400K bars in highway heist – National
A truck carrying more than 400,000 KitKat bars was stolen while en route from its production facility in Italy to a delivery location in Poland, the chocolate bar’s parent company, Nestlé, said.
According to the Swiss manufacturer, about 12 tons of chocolate disappeared last week and have not been found. On Friday, the company said, “The vehicle and its cargo have not been located anywhere.”
The chocolate bars were supposed to be distributed across Europe, and KitKat is responding on Sunday to news that a large portion of its chocolate has gone astray.
“We are working closely with local authorities and supply chain networks to investigate,” Post X said.
The stolen metals were from KitKat’s new line, Formula 1, which it launched after becoming the sport’s chocolate partner last year, reports The Guardian. Nestlé also warned that the loss of supplies could mean the chocolates end up on the illegal market.
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The stolen chocolates are reportedly shaped like race cars and filled with the brand’s signature bread.
In a separate statement, a KitKat spokesperson told NBC News and several other stores that all of its products can be tracked using a unique batch code assigned everywhere, meaning that consumers and retailers will be able to identify if their KitKat is part of a stolen shipment by scanning the code on the package.
If it is found stolen, the person in charge will be given instructions on how to alert the company, which will then be reported to the investigators.
KitKit did not shy away from simplifying this situation.
“While we appreciate the unique taste of criminals, the fact remains that asset theft is a growing issue for businesses of all sizes,” the spokesperson said.
Since there are sophisticated programs that are regularly distributed, we have chosen to go public with our information in the hope that it raises awareness of the increasing criminal practice,” they continued.
In a separate statement to the New York Times, the company confirmed that no one was injured in the break-in and played on KitKat’s popular slogan.
“We’ve been encouraging people to take a break from KITKAT – but it seems thieves took the message to the extreme and made off with over 12 tonnes of our chocolate,” it read.
Bar robberies are not one thing. According to KitKat, “it comes on the heels of a joint report from the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) and the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) EMEA, which revealed an alarming increase in asset theft and asset fraud – with sophisticated fraud methods on the rise.”
The company added that there is no risk associated with the stolen goods and that its partners have been notified of the theft.
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