Nestlé is to roll out reformulated Kit Kats as part of its efforts to slash more than 1,000 tonnes of sugar and three billion calories from shopper’s diets.
From next week, the new-recipe bars containing less sugar and extra milk and cocoa will go on sale in redesigned wrappers. Each four-finger snack will offer 21.3g of sugar – a 3.2% reduction on the current 22g. The calorie content will also drop by 1.9% to 209kcal from 213kcal.
The reformulated Kit Kats would remain the “same size as the ones they are replacing and taste just as good,” said Fiona Kendrick, chairman and CEO of Nestlé UK & Ireland. “Milk and cocoa have formed the basis of the Kit Kat recipe ever since it was introduced in 1936. So, while people might have been expecting us to add something else, this is a great example of us using our strength in research and innovation to develop a great recipe that replaces sugar with a bit more of the existing, natural ingredients that people know and love,” she added.
The move comes after Nestlé announced plans to strip 10% of sugar from its confectionery portfolio – which includes Aero and Yorkie – by 2018.
Earlier this year, the food and drink giant claimed to have found a way to restructure sugar, which means it could reduce the amount used in its confectionery by 40% while retaining the same sweet taste. The technology, developed by Nestlé scientists in Switzerland and the UK, works by hollowing out sugar crystals so each particle dissolves more quickly on the tongue, allowing less sugar to be used while tasting “just as good”.
Nestlé hopes to use the faster-dissolving sugar across a range of its confectionery products from next year.
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