Nestlé has confirmed the theft of more than 12 tons of KitKat bars from a truck in Italy, just days before Easter. The shipment, containing 413,793 units of the new Formula One line, was stolen while en route from a factory in central Italy to Poland on 26 March.
The company said it is working with local authorities and supply chain partners to investigate the incident. No injuries were reported. The vehicle and the chocolate have not yet been located.
In a statement, Nestlé riffed on the KitKat slogan: 'We’ve always encouraged people to have a break with KitKat, but it seems thieves have taken the message too literally.' The company warned that the stolen bars could appear on unofficial markets, but said law enforcement can trace them using batch codes on individual bars.
Nestlé highlighted that cargo theft is a growing issue, with increasingly sophisticated schemes. The stolen bars are from KitKat’s new F1 line, which features chocolate moulded after race cars, following KitKat becoming the official F1 chocolate bar last year.
