Over 413,793 chocolate bars literally disappeared into thin air during a transport that was supposed to cross the continent, from central Italy to Poland.
Nestlé, the Swiss food giant that produces KitKat, broke the news, officially confirming the theft which occurred last week. The truck departed regularly from a factory in central Italy, but never reached the destination distribution center. Neither the vehicle nor its precious contents have yet been traced. The investigation is ongoing in collaboration with local authorities and supply chain partners.
The KitKat spokesperson commented on the story with a good dose of self-irony:
We’ve always encouraged people to take a break from KitKat, but it seems thieves have taken the message too literally.
It’s hard to blame him. Carrying 12 tons of chocolate away is, in fact, a rather challenging break to organise. But beyond the joke, the brand was keen to underline the seriousness of the issue: the theft of goods by road is a worryingly growing phenomenon throughout Europe, with increasingly sophisticated techniques implemented against companies of all sizes.
The spokesperson in fact declared:
While we appreciate the exceptional taste of criminals, the fact remains that cargo theft is a growing problem for businesses of all sizes. With more sophisticated schemes being implemented regularly, we have chosen to make our experience public in the hope that this will raise awareness of an increasingly common criminal trend.
A recent joint report by the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) and the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) EMEA has put the spotlight on this alarming trend, and the latest case involving KitKats is a striking demonstration of this.
Kit-Kat at risk for Easter
The timing isn’t the best. In fact, the theft comes a few days before Easter, a period in which chocolate is the undisputed protagonist on shelves across Europe.
Nestlé has specified that the incident will not have a significant impact on overall supply, but it is difficult not to imagine some shelves being emptier than usual in the coming weeks, just when demand is at seasonal highs.
How to recognize stolen candy bars
Nestlé has announced that the stolen bars could end up on unofficial sales channels in several European countries. For this reason, every single package is traceable via a unique batch code: anyone who scanned that code would automatically receive instructions on how to contact KitKat and report the find.
The company advises consumers not to attempt to recover or handle the merchandise themselves, and to share any useful information with local law enforcement authorities.
Nestlé has chosen to make its experience public precisely to help raise the level of awareness of an often underestimated phenomenon. Although in this case the news would have spread anyway. After all, 12 tons of chocolate disappearing isn’t exactly something that goes unnoticed.
