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Have a break, have a KitKat - how we're working to develop our community, ensure sustainability, and better our society:
At KitKat, people are at the heart of our success, from our suppliers and our employees, to the consumers who love our products. We are driven by our community at every level - an equal community that is made up of all of us - we are working every day to ensure that our product remains one of the world's favourite treats, and making moves to ensure the sustainability of our manufacturing chain to protect our planet, our customers, and our workers at every step.
Our People:
We're proud to say that we're involved in many projects which allow us to better the lives of our employees and their families. The Nestlé Cocoa plan works everyday to improve the lives of our cocoa farmers from West Africa, whilst also ensuring that the best quality products are used in your favourite treat. The plan tackles child labour, ensures the workers are treated fairly, and makes sure the farmers can gain a profit from their work.
We have also built and refurbished 40 schools in West Africa across a four year programme, giving 11,000 children access to education which will improve their lives and help them work towards an incredible future. This is an ongoing programme which we are incredibly proud of.
We've also been working to better the lives of our UK employee community too. On our York site we have been running our 'Youth Employment Initiative' since 2013, creating jobs for hundreds of young people and giving their future the boost it deserves.
Nestlé workers are encouraged to take two days for volunteering each year, working on a variety of different projects. In 2018 seven members of our York staff took the time to volunteer with Disability Action Yorkshire, involving a brilliant, 'bake-off' themed event.
Our roots:
Our factory in York is where it all began, with 4.5 million bars still made everyday by our incredible team of workers. The KitKat was first invented in 1935 by Rowntree's, and has grown in popularity to an incredible extent. Did you know that 17 billion KitKats are eaten across the world every year, and they are even considered lucky in Japan?
Originally marketed as the 'Chocolate Crisp', in 1944 we made the change to KitKat, and we haven't looked back since. As we've grown we've developed new products from the iconic KitKat chunky, to seasonal favourites and the vegan KitKat.
We always make sure to listen to our customers and remember our beginnings in York, where the family values remain an integral part of KitKat. Our involvement with volunteering and charities such as the Wild Hearts School Engagement programme works to improve young people's employability skills, giving back to the community and helping to ensure the world around KitKat thrives.
Our society:
You asked, we listened: The vegan KitKat launched in 2021 and is certified vegan by the Vegan Society, because providing for the needs of all society is a top priority for us. Our chocolate specialists worked hard at every step, from selecting rice for the neutral chocolate flavour profile, to ensuring it had the instantly recognisable KitKat 'snap' upon breaking a bar in two.
We donate KitKats that don't fit retail standard in way of image to disadvantaged communities through partnerships with charities Fareshare and Community Shop. This helps to reduce waste and make KitKat accessible to everyone.
Our York factory site has achieved a zero waste for disposal status and is constantly working to give back to the planet. Part of this initiative is our wildflower meadows which feature on the York factory site and on many of our dairy farmers' land, helping to promote and improve biodiversity.
The procurement team at KitKat are developing our supply chain every day to increase the diversity of our suppliers - championing female, ethic, and minority-owned businesses because we want to ensure KitKat is a diverse product at every level of development, manufacturing, and distribution.
Nestlé as a company plans to be carbon neutral by 2025. In Japan, we made all packaging paper instead of plastic, which is a step in the right direction to making sure that we meet our goal of complete carbon neutrality by 2025, where all packaging will be recyclable.
Our ingredients:
We believe that the phrase ‘everything in moderation’ is something important to leading a healthy lifestyle. Whilst KitKat’s do contain sugar and salt, when eaten as part of a well balanced diet, it can make us mentally happier and healthier - a happy mind supports a healthy body. You can read more about how to snack wisely here on the NHS website. We label all of our products with the portion guidelines, and have worked adapted our ingredients to reduce 3,300 tonnes of saturated fat from our products - our consumers' health comes first.
Sustainable sourcing:
The sugar we use in KitKats is produced in England, helping to reduce the carbon emissions of or supply chain. Our cocoa comes from our farms in West Africa. In 2016 KitKat was the first brand to source 100% of cocoa used in our products from sustainable sources, as part of the Nestlé Cocoa Plan.
Supporting local businesses is central to our mission, as we started out as a small business ourselves. Our milk is supplied by Scottish First Milk dairy farms in Scotland, close to the factories where KitKat's are made. These farms strive for sustainability, animal welfare, and encourage more young people to get into farming, helping to support local businesses and agriculture. Whilst our cocoa is farmed overseas because Britain simply doesn't have the climate for cocoa farming, by sourcing our milk local to our factories in Scotland, this reduces the overall carbon emissions of our supply chain.
The palm oil question:
Palm-oil is one of the most versatile vegetable oils, and is used in thousands of products including KitKats. It is also known as a massive contributor to deforestation and can have a destructive social impact. However, when farmed responsibly it can reduce the pressure on sensitive ecosystems and support communities across the world. All palm oil used in our UK production lines is certified by RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil). We are often asked why we do not simply change to a different vegetable oil such as soy or coconut. The differences in environmental impact of each oil is small, but the social impact would be huge. By continuing to use sustainable palm oil we are supporting the communities from South East Asia which farm palm oil, and helping to support their livelihoods by ensuring their crop does not go to waste.
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