“Imaginative flavors” take the cake: KitKat US launches birthday cake variety

20 Feb 2020 --- KitKat’s flavor innovation trail continues with a new “Birthday Cake” launch from The Hershey Company, the brand’s US owner. The birthday cake flavor has been enjoying increased popularity in the US, and the trend is expected to cross over to other markets. This new flavor marks the first time that a KitKat bar will include sprinkles. Meanwhile in the UK, where KitKat is a Nestlé-owned brand, two-finger biscuits have been released in three flavors. The new flavors come at the heels of Nestlé’s European launches of KitKat Gold last month and KitKat Green Tea Matcha last July and KitKat Ruby in January 2018. The move is a bid to attract consumer attention via trending, “imaginative” flavors and textures as well as creating premium product versions of a well-known iconic chocolate bar.

“We have found that consumers gravitate to different textures to satisfy different needs or moods. For example, we find items with smooth textures better satisfy at the end of a long day when you are trying to relax; whereas crunch is more desired when you’re stressed or even hungry. In this instance, ‘crunching’ can also provide a degree of satisfaction when one is hungry,” Robert Gavazzi, Hershey’s Sr. Dir. Global innovation tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“KitKat Birthday Cake delivers on the universal love of the layers of birthday cake flavor and aroma of frosting perfectly paired with the surprise crunch of sprinkles,” adds Justin Kukura, Senior Manager Chocolate Product Development at The Hershey Company.

This new limited-edition bar is positioned as “a celebration of delicious birthday cake” flavored white crème, crisp wafers, accented by a colorful assortment of sprinkles. This new KitKat bar is available in the US nationwide starting in April in a standard 1.5 oz. bar.

Moreover, Susanne Prucha, Marketing Director, KitKat, says that as a brand KitKat is internationally recognized for its inventive flavors.“ Our US KitKat lovers have continued to voice a longing for new and imaginative flavors, and that’s what we’re giving them in 2020.”

Other most recent innovation include Duos Mint + Dark Chocolate, Sweet Cinnamon, and Pumpkin Pie. This release marks the third new limited-edition flavor announced in 2020, following the success of Raspberry Crème and Lemon Crisp.

The new KitKat Senses line come in salted caramel, millionaire’s shortbread and choc chip cookie dough varieties.KitKat’s European flavor innovations
Meanwhile, the new KitKat Senses range in the UK is bringing more crunch to consumers. Joining the existing KitKat Senses range of boxed chocolates and single formats, the new biscuits come in three flavors: salted caramel, millionaire’s shortbread and choc chip cookie dough.

Each variety features milk chocolate, two layers of wafer and a thick creamy filling that includes either salted caramel flakes, crunchy caramel pieces, or choc chip cookie pieces.

“Our KitKat Senses range is all about those special me-time moments when you want a little bit of luxury. Whether it’s to make your morning cup of coffee extra special, for a pick-me-up throughout the day or to unwind in the evening, we think our new KitKat Senses biscuits provide the perfect indulgent break,” notes Amy Bennett-Inge, Assistant Brand Manager for KitKat.

KitKat Senses biscuits are being made at Nestlé’s factory in York, England, which produces a range of two and four finger KitKats and KitKat Chunky bars. At the time of the launch, Nestlé also announced a one million US dollar investment (£800,000) in new machinery for its York site in order to speed up production of the new biscuits.

Last year in the UK, Nestlé Confectionery launched the first KitKat Chocolatory. This was the first direct-to-consumer offering in the UK with luxury handcrafted KitKats available for shoppers to customize their bars by choosing from four types of chocolate and 14 ingredients to build their own eight-finger KitKat.

Other global launches include the release of the Cacao Fruit Chocolate KitKat in Japan last year. This release marked the first chocolate confectionery that uses dried, powdered cacao pulp as a substitute for traditional sugar.

Edited by Missy Green