John Lewis & Partners to be the first UK retailer to offer Nestle’s KitKat Chocolatory range of bespoke and handmade KitKats including exclusive, new ‘Best of British’ bars

23 September 2019

This week (26 September), John Lewis & Partners will become the first UK retailer to sell Nestle’s KitKat Chocolatory luxury,  and bespoke KitKats handcrafted by expert chocolatiers. 

The KitKat Chocolatory comprises a whole range of KitKat experiences including the option to create your own expertly handcrafted KitKat from a wide range of options in special, personalised packaging. 

At a 2,000 sq ft pop up at the retailer’s flagship Oxford Street shop customers will be able to order eight-finger ‘Create Your Break’ bars with their favourite variety of chocolate -  milk, dark, white or ruby and three different ingredients from a list of 12 different ingredients including rose petals, chocolate brownie crumbs, salted caramel chunks and honeycomb. There are nearly 1500 different flavour combinations. Customers will also be able to personalise the box with a message for example; Happy Birthday Matt, or Merry Christmas Emily.

Once customers have made their selection a team of chocolatiers will create the bespoke eight finger KitKat and notify the customer via email when their chocolate treat is ready for collection. 

In Oxford Street and another pop-up in John Lewis’s shop in the Manchester, Trafford Centre, which opens on 1 October, customers will also be able to make up ‘pick and mix’ gift boxes with individual handmade bars of seven new, exclusive ‘Best of British’ flavours. These bars will also be made by expert chocolatiers in the shops, and are inspired by classic British desserts and other English favourite flavours - Cherry Bakewell, Marmalade, Apple & Rhubarb Crumble, Earl Grey, Blackberry & Elderflower, Lemon Posset and Dandelion & Burdock. 

Six handcrafted ‘Special Editions’ flavoured bars - Nuttlylicious, Zingtastic Gin and Tonic, Billionaire’s Treasure, Jewels of the East, Springtime in Japan, Whisky and Ginger  will go on sale at 30 shops across the UK and on johnlewis.com

Rachel Costello, John Lewis Partner and Gift Food Buyer said; “I think our customers will love these exciting new flavours from such an iconic much loved brand and the experience of making their own KitKat. There are so many options that everyone can find their perfect flavour.  These special KitKats will make fun and unique Christmas gifts and stocking fillers.”

Rabia Khan, Head of KitKat Chocolatory for Nestlé said: “This is the biggest news for KitKat since the introduction of the KitKat Chunky exactly 20 years ago.

“We know how much people enjoy experimenting with new and exciting KitKat flavours and the KitKat Chocolatory offers a whole new, premium KitKat experience as well as the chance to create your very own personalised break.”

Full list of 12 ingredients which can be chosen for Create Your Break bars:

• Cherry Pieces
• Cocoa Nibs
• Dried Raspberry
• Honeycomb
• Meringue
• Mini Marshmallows
• Popping Candy
• Rose Petals
• Salted Caramel Chunks
• Toasted Coconut Flakes

Prices: 

• KitKat Create Your Break (8 fingers) £14
• KitKat Best of British (8 fingers) £12
• Special Editions  6 finger bar £7.50 and 12 finger bar £12

List of 30 John Lewis & Partners shops selling KitKat Chocolatory Special Editions bars: Bluewater, Birmingham, Brent Cross, Cambridge, Cardiff, Cheadle, Cheltenham, Cribbs Causeway, Edinburgh, Glasgow, High Wycombe, Kingston, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Manchester Trafford, Nottingham, Oxford Street, Peter Jones, Poole, Reading, Sheffield, Solihull, Southampton, Stratford, Welwyn, White City Westfield and York. 

KitKat was invented in York back in 1935 when the first four-finger bar was introduced as the ‘Rowntree’s Chocolate Crisp’ before the name ‘KitKat’ was adopted a couple of years later. In the 84 years since, the brand has become a global phenomenon including in Japan where KitKat is considered lucky and, famously, has been made available in more than 300 weird and wonderful flavours since the turn of the millennium, including purple potato, green tea, pumpkin and sake.

About John Lewis & Partners

John Lewis & Partners operates 50 John Lewis shops across the UK (37 department stores, 12 John Lewis at home and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal 2) as well as johnlewis.com. The retailer stocks around 350,000 separate lines in its department stores and on  johnlewis.com across fashion, home and technology. This year John Lewis & Partners won, 'Best Multichannel Retailer 2018', 'Best Clothing Retailer 2018', and 'Best Furniture Retailer 2018' at the GlobalData Customer Satisfaction Awards 2018.  John Lewis Finance offers a range of comprehensive financial services products - including Insurance, Foreign Currency, International Payments and the Partnership Card - delivering the values of expertise, trust and customer service expected from the John Lewis brand. johnlewisfinance.com

*GlobalData Retail Customer Satisfaction Awards 2018