“Sweet tooth” is a term used to describe a liking for foods that are sweet. Most people, regardless of which culture or region they come from, enjoy sweets in one form or another (Bramen, 2010). Sweets are part of material culture, and the type of sweets liked the most and the manner of consuming them vary by region (Michaud, 2013; Krondl, 2016).

In many cultures, a serving of cakes, cookies, biscuits, or wafers is consumed with a cup of tea or coffee. For example, in the UK, the office tea time is considered a cultural experience with its own rituals and includes a biscuit or a cookie (BBC, 2017b). Biscuits in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and Ireland are hard and may be savoury or sweet, such as chocolate biscuits,

digestives, ginger nuts, and custard creams. In the United States, a “biscuit” is a quick bread, somewhat similar to a scone, and usually unsweetened.

Regardless of differences in definitions, one sweet product found alongside a cup of tea in many countries is a Kit Kat, a chocolate-covered wafer biscuit produced globally by Nestlé.

Kit Kat bars are manufactured in various countries around the globe including:

Brazil, Mexico, UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Germany, Russia, Japan, United Arab Emirates, and Bulgaria.7 In the United States The Hershey Company, a Nestlé competitor, produces Kit Kat bars under license, due to a prior licensing agreement with Rowntree.

Rowntree’s of York, a British company which was acquired by Nestlé in 1988, originally created the Kit Kat bar. The standard bars consist of two or four fingers composed of three layers of wafer, separated and covered by an outer layer of chocolate. Each finger can be snapped from the bar separately. The first Kit Kat type bar was sold in the UK by Rowntree in 1935, when it was called Chocolate Crisp, and the shape has changed little since then.

Questions

1. The initial success of Kit Kat in Japan was accidental. Discuss how Kit Kat could adapt the product and market it in other countries to appeal to local cultures of its consumers.

2. In Poland, Kit Kat is often bought and included, along other confectionery products, in sniegust, a gift of sweets, fruits, money, and clothes given to godchildren at Easter time. In the UK, the product is often consumed with tea during breaks at work. Which cultural traditions and practices could Nestlé relate the consumption of Kit Kat to?

3. Why do you think so many different flavours have been developed for the Japanese market? Why has it not been the case in other countries?

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