KitKat is asking the public for help after thieves made off with 12 tons of the company’s chocolate, prompting the launch of a new tracking tool to locate the missing shipment.
The Nestlé-owned brand announced the theft in a statement on March 28.
According to the company, 413,793 bars disappeared after leaving a factory in central Italy on their way to Poland, where they were intended for distribution across Europe.
“We’ve always encouraged people to have a break with KitKat, but it seems thieves have taken the message too literally and made a break with more than 12 tons of our chocolate,” a KitKat spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that while the company does “appreciate the criminals’ exceptional taste,” the cargo theft reflects a growing problem for businesses of all sizes. “With more sophisticated schemes being deployed regularly, we decided to share our experience publicly in the hope of raising awareness of an increasingly common criminal trend,” the statement said.
On Wednesday, April 1, KitKat launched a tool for customers to check whether their bars are linked to the theft.
“Someone really stole 12 tons of KitKats. And we really want to know where they’ve gone,” the company said in a post on X. “We’ve created a Stolen KitKat Tracker that lets you check if your KitKat is from the missing batch.”
Some social media users questioned whether the announcement was an April Fools’ prank. KitKat acknowledged the skepticism but confirmed the theft is real and under investigation.
“Sadly, it’s true! An actual truckload of KitKats from a new range went missing during transit last week. We’re on the case with the authorities,” the company said.
The stolen shipment was intended for European markets, and there is no indication that US consumers are affected.
Customers are encouraged to use KitKat’s online tracker to verify their products.
