Have you ever had a Kit Kat chocolate wafer bar?
Kit Kat is popular all over the world.
But Kit Kat is easily the most popular chocolate brand in Japan.
In Japanese, Kit Kat is Kitto katto.
The Japanese word kitto can mean “surely” or “absolutely”.
The word “katsu” is “to win”.
This was cleverly turned into a Japanese wordplay meaning, “You’re bound to win” or even
“never fail”.
As a result, Kit Kat was marketed to be commonly given as a gift to students taking their exams
… or anyone who needs a little boost of luck.
Kit Kat Japan regularly produces special editions which are inspired by a particular region
in the country.
Nestle has really capitalised on this by producing lots of wacky and fun flavours.
In 2004, the green tea flavor was introduced.
Since then, there have been more than 300 different flavors … and Kit Kat has become
a big part of Japanese culture.
Nestlé attributes the success of the flavor varieties to the tradition of omiyage.
An omiyage is a gift or souvenir you give to friends, coworkers, and family after returning
home from a trip.
In 2014, they were the top-selling confection in the country.
The top-selling flavor of the candy bar in 2010 was soy sauce.
Other interesting varieties include sweet potato, sake, wasabi and red bean.
The company believes the limited-edition seasonal models create a "limited time, special, and
exclusive" feeling for customers.
The business model was actually created to solve a problem the company found in Japanese
convenience stores.
Japanese convenience stores frequently rotate items and flavors off of shelves.
By producing smaller runs of flavors, the company was better able to control its production
costs.
It was also economically viable in Japan because there is no initial product fee for listing
new products in Japanese convenience stores.
If you’re in Tokyo, and you like Kit Kat, don’t miss the Kit-Kat Chocolatory in Ginza
where you can pick up some of the more high-end flavours.
What flavors would you like to try?
That’s it for today.
Thanks for watching.
See you next time.