Nestle, a Swiss food giant, told the AP and AFP news agencies that its entire truck carrying 413,793 new KitKat products was stolen.
The missing KitKat weighs more than 12 tons. The truck, which departed from an Italian factory, will deliver new KitKat products to Poland at each stop. The missing vehicle and chocolate have yet to be found.
“The theft could lead to a shortage of KitKats in stores,” Nestle said. “Unfortunately, consumers may have difficulty getting their favorite chocolates ahead of Easter.”
“We have always encouraged people to relax with KitKats,” he said, citing the brand slogan “Have a break,” adding, “But it seems like the thieves took this message literally and made a break with more than 12 tons of our chocolate.”
“We appreciate the outstanding taste of the criminals, but the fact that cargo theft is becoming an increasing problem for companies of all sizes remains unchanged,” he said.
Meanwhile, Nestle asked wholesale and retail companies that knew if the product was illegally distributed as each chocolate product was given a unique code.
JULIE KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
