KitKat Chocolatory bring luxury, hand-crafted KitKats to the UK
The KitKat Chocolatory will arrive in 30 John Lewis & Partners shops across the UK and at York’s Chocolate Story later this week before being made available direct from Nestlé through a new online shop before the end of the year.
The KitKat Chocolatory webshop will mark Nestlé’s first-ever move into a direct-to-consumer offering for its UK confectionery business.
The KitKat Chocolatory brings with it a whole range of KitKat experiences including the option to create your own expertly handcrafted chocolates from a range of options in special, personalised packaging.
At the heart of the Chocolatory is the eight-finger ‘Create Your Break’ option which offers nearly 1500 different flavour combinations from four different chocolate varieties; milk, dark, white and ruby, and a host of diverse ingredients including shortbread pieces, salted caramel chunks, honeycomb and rose petals.
The range also boasts six delicious special edition flavours including ‘Zingtastic Gin and Tonic’ and ‘Springtime in Japan’ whilst a further eight ‘Best of British’ chocolate fingers inspired by Great British flavours like Dandelion and Burdock, Marmalade, Cherry Bakewell and Eton Mess are exclusive to John Lewis & Partners.
Every KitKat sold through the Chocolatory is being individually hand-crafted by expert chocolatiers in the UK and the eight-finger ‘Create Your Break’ bars will be made to order based on the choices of shoppers from the range of ingredients available. Each bar features one of four varieties of chocolate and three different ingredients.
Rabia Khan, Head of KitKat Chocolatory for Nestlé UK & Ireland, said: “KitKat is our biggest brand and this is the biggest news for the brand since the introduction of the KitKat Chunky exactly 20 years ago.
“We know how much people enjoy experimenting with new and exciting KitKat flavours and the KitKat Chocolatory offers a whole new, premium experience as well as the chance to create your very own personalised break and have it delivered right to your door.”
John Lewis & Partners will offer the full range of ‘Special Editions’ bars in 30 shops. At its flagship shop on Oxford Street, it will offer the ‘Create Your Break’ experience from a 2,000 sq ft pop up along with gift boxes of ‘Best of British’ chocolate fingers which will also be available at a pop up at its shop in the Trafford Centre, Manchester.
Rachel Costello, John Lewis Partner and Gift Food Buyer, said: “I think our customers will love these exciting new flavours from such an iconic, much-loved brand and the experience of making their own chocolate bars. There are so many options that everyone can find their perfect flavour. These special KitKats will make fun and unique Christmas gifts and stocking fillers.”
Later in the year, the Chocolatory webshop will launch just in time for Christmas with a personalised, luxury KitKat providing this year’s perfect gift for friends and family. Aside from the KitKat itself, the Chocolatory packaging is also customisable both in-store and online with a personalised name or message appearing on the front of packs.
KitKat Chocolatory is also coming to York, the worldwide home of the brand, and the Chocolatory’s ‘Create Your Break’ option will be available inside the city’s ‘York Chocolate Story’ attraction from this week alongside the full range of ‘Special Editions’. York’s Chocolate Story takes visitors on a tour through York’s chocolate past and the history of confectionery in the city right up until the present day.
KitKat was invented in York back in 1935 when the first four-finger bar was introduced as the ‘Rowntree’s Chocolate Crisp’ before the name ‘KitKat’ was adopted a couple of years later. In the 84 years since, the brand has become a global phenomenon including in Japan where KitKat is considered lucky and, famously, has been made available in more than 300 weird and wonderful flavours since the turn of the millennium including purple potato, green tea, pumpkin and sake.
Now, with the introduction of the Chocolatory in the UK, fans on these shores will be able to explore nearly 1,500 exotic flavour combinations for the very first time both in-store at John Lewis and York’s Chocolate Story as well as from the comfort of their own homes through the Chocolatory webshop.
