More than 400,000 KitKats are missing. And no, that’s not an April Fool’s joke.
The company has confirmed that roughly 12 tons of its candy bars, which comes out to 413,793 KitKats, were stolen last week while being transported in Europe. On Wednesday, it launched a “Stolen KitKat Tracker,” asking the public for help locating the missing treats.
“Just to clarify, this is not a stunt, or an April Fool’s joke,” KitKat said in a post on X. “Someone really stole 12 tonnes of KitKats. And we really want to know where they’ve gone.”
Nestlé, which distributes KitKat in most countries except in the U.S., confirmed to TIME that the new feature is not a stunt. (Really.)
Here’s everything you need to know about the stolen goods and the effort to recover them.
What happened to the missing KitKats?
KitKat said that a truck containing the candy bars was stolen while en route from a factory in Central Italy to a location in Poland. The candy bars were intended to be distributed throughout the continent.
“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 tonnes of our chocolate,” a KitKat spokesperson said in a statement. “Whilst we appreciate the criminals’ exceptional taste, the fact remains that cargo theft is an escalating issue for businesses of all sizes.”
The spokesperson added that the company chose to publicize the theft “in the hope that it raises awareness of an increasingly common criminal trend.”
KitKat assured customers that “there are no concerns for consumer safety, and supply is not affected.”
What is the status of the investigation?
Nestlé told TIME on Wednesday that the truck and the KitKats it was transporting are still missing, and that the investigation is ongoing. KitKat said on Sunday that it is “working closely with local authorities and supply chain partners to investigate” the theft.
KitKat said that it suspects that the stolen goods “could enter unofficial sales channels across European markets.”
How does the “Stolen KitKat Tracker” work?
KitKat announced on Wednesday that it had launched the tracker on its website in an effort to identify and locate stolen candy bars. A customer can go to the webpage, and then type in the eight-digit batch number on the back of their candy bar. When the customer hits “enter,” the website will say whether the KitKat is one of the 413,793 candy bars that were stolen.
“Help us find them. Use the Stolen KitKat Tracker,” KitKat urged customers on social media post.
The post ‘Not a Stunt, or an April Fool’s Joke’: KitKat Ramps Up Efforts to Locate 400,000 Stolen Candy Bars appeared first on TIME.
