Japan gets new Kit Kat plant to cater to 'exotic' tastes
The snack's exotic flavours are popular among both locals and tourists. Photo courtesy: Bloomberg
(Web Desk) - Wasabi, green tea and sake are just some of the things famous in Japan. However, while these may be popularly consumed in the country, these also happen to be some of the exotic flavours of the famous chocolate Kit Kat that have taken the country by storm.
Demand for these flavours is so high that Nestle is opening its first factory in Japan in more than 25 years to cater to increased local production.
According to Bloomberg, Nestle SA is building its first Kit Kat Japanese factory in order to meet booming demand and enhance local production of the chocolate and wafer snack.
Kit Kat has a highly positive reputation in Japan which in part stems from the snack’s name, Kit Kat sounds a lot like “kitto katsu,” which can be loosely translated in Japanese as “sure win”. This has made Kit Kat a popular gift for people who are about to engage in high pressure events such as going for a job interview or sitting for a university examination.
An apple and carrot flavored Kit Kat bar. Exotic flavors are a reason for the snack’s popularity in Japan. Photo courtesy: Daily Mail
Another part of the snack’s popularity is that it has molded itself to Japanese culture and embraced uniquely Japanese tastes such as green tea and ginger. While in the rest of the world Kit Kat has not tinkered much with its original recipe or has stuck mostly with traditional flavors, in Japan the snack is available in more than 300 flavors and has been for more than forty years. Recent flavor additions such as custard pudding have not only proved popular among locals but have also intrigued visitors so much that Japan has gained a reputation as the go-to destination for picking up of odd variations of Kit Kats.
This has been highly beneficial as the Japanese tourism boom has seen spending by visitors surging up to a record 2.5 trillion Yen ($22.5 billion) in the six months through June,according to data compiled by the Japan National Tourism Organization.There is every chance that if Kit Kat in Japan continues to bring out unique new cultural flavors it will prove to be a selling point for tourists. As Matt Borscak, a visiting backpacker from Germany put it the thing which makes Kit Kat different in Japan is the cultural touch.
