Nestlé Rolls Out New Reduced-Sugar Kit Kats With More Cocoa and Milk

29 Mar 2017 --- New versions of one of Nestle’s iconic confectionery brands Kit Kat have been launched with 10% less sugar and more cocoa and milk. 

The flagship brand is about to hit the shelves but consumers could take a little while to get used to the reformation - despite Nestlé insisting there is no change to taste. 

In fact, they call it an “improved recipe” with the sugar replaced by more milk and cocoa which is made clear on the newly designed ‘Extra Milk & Cocoa’ packs that will begin appearing on shelves from early April.

But some consumers who have already tried the reformulation low sugar version have mixed reactions. Taking to social media, some people are giving the new Kit Kats the thumbs up, while others claim Nestlé has made a mistake and spoiled the taste of a firm favorite.

Earlier this month, Nestlé announced that it would reduce sugar by 10% across its confectionery portfolio through a range of methods that includes reformulation, and this is one of the first examples of that. 

“When we announced that we were removing some of the sugar from our confectionery, the first questions that consumers asked us were: ‘are you going to make things smaller?’ and ‘will it taste the same?’ I’m pleased to say that these products are the same size as the ones they are replacing and taste just as good,” says Fiona Kendrick, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé UK and Ireland.

“Milk and cocoa has formed the basis of the KitKat 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.”

The new recipe delivers a small sugar reduction in each product which, when scaled up, is a positive step in reducing the amount of sugar in the UK’s diet overall. This move will take out more than 1000 tons of sugar from UK public consumption – that’s more than 250 million teaspoons - and will remove more than three billion calories.

Nestlé is working on a number of initiatives within its confectionery business to deliver further sugar reductions towards its 10% saving by 2018.