You Wouldn't Recognize The First Kit Kat Bars - Mashed (2024)

You Wouldn't Recognize The First Kit Kat Bars - Mashed (4)

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ByNeala Broderick/

Every sweet tooth has their go-to candy bar, and Kit Kats are among some of the most universally loved. In fact,Nestle, via Mvorganizing, claims 650 Kit Kat bars are consumed every second around the world. Along with the popular jingle — "Gimme a break, gimme a break....break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar!"the candy is easily identifiable due to its bright red wrapper. But that wasn't always the case. The first Kit Kat bar to hit the shelves would hardly be noticeable to Kit Kat lovers today as its wrapper was once blue.

First entering the candy scene in the UK back in 1935, the Kit Kat was originally named Rowntree's Chocolate Crispand wrapped in a red wrapper (viaNestle Travel Retail). Two years later, it was given a new name:Kit Kat Chocolate Crisp. The candy bar's popularity boomed so rapidly that Rowntree's was forced to consider ingredient shortages amid World War II and tweaked the recipe in 1941. The scarcity of milk, specifically,pushed the candy makers to use dark chocolate as opposed to milk chocolate, greatly altering the taste (via The Fact Site). That's when the stand-out blue-wrapped Kit Kat came into play. The fine print on the wrapper explained that Chocolate Crisps were on hold until the war ended and they could get their hands on the desired ingredients.

Kit Kat's blue wrappers were retired in 1949

After the end of World War II, Rowntree's revisited the original candy bar name and wrapper. Then, in 1949, Chocolate Crisp was dropped from the name and ever since, the candy has been known as Kit Kat and been sold in rep wrappers. Sales steadily increased from there and eventually, Kit Kats made their way to other countries. The crispy wafer that we all know and love today can be found in over 80 countries, according to Nestle Travel Retail. Among those countries, up to 300 different flavors of the candy bar exist, from orange to miso soup (viaThe Fact Site).

Kit Kats are clearly a hot commodity, as the tasty chocolate wafer bar has been cornered by two of the most well-known candy manufacturers in the world: Hershey and Nestle. If you're ever snacking on a Kit Kat bar overseas and are convinced it tastes a tad different than the ones in the states, there may be a reason. Nestle bought out the Kit Kat creators, Rowntree's, and continues to produce Kit Kats globally, although Hershey strictly produces the candy bar in the U.S. and has since 1970, confirms Hershey Land.

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You Wouldn't Recognize The First Kit Kat Bars - Mashed (2024)

FAQs

You Wouldn't Recognize The First Kit Kat Bars - Mashed? ›

The first Kit Kat bar to hit the shelves would hardly be noticeable to Kit Kat lovers today as its wrapper was once blue. First entering the candy scene in the UK back in 1935, the Kit Kat was originally named Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp and wrapped in a red wrapper (via Nestle Travel Retail).

Did you know the filling in Kit Kats is made from damaged Kit Kats? ›

Whenever a Kit Kat bar is somehow made imperfect during production like air bubbles or some other issue, the chocolate bar isn't thrown out. Instead, they ground up into a fine paste and turned into a filling that's then incorporated back into the production process to create new Kit Kat bars..

What did the first Kit Kat bar look like? ›

Design. When first introduced in the United Kingdom in 1935, the original Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp bar had a red wrapper, which briefly became blue between 1945 and 1947. The Kit Kat logo was added in 1937.

What is the famous line of Kit Kat? ›

The first use of the tagline 'Have a Break. Have a Kit Kat', written by the agency's Donald Gilles, can be traced to May 1957. A year later it was used on the first television spots for the brand and ever since has been a staple of campaigns for the chocolate bar.

Is the inside of a Kit Kat crushed up Kit Kats? ›

Yep, that's right, when you take a big bite of that crisp, wafer-layered goodness, you're actually consuming broken KitKats, that were once KitKats, filled with broken KitKats, that were also once KitKats.

What is the filling inside a Kit Kat? ›

"To clarify, the 'chocolayer' — the filling between the wafer of a Kit Kat — is made from cocoa liquor, sugar and a small amount of re-worked Kit Kat," a Nestlé U.K. spokesperson confirmed, adding, "Please note, re-worked Kit Kat is product which cannot be sold."

What does Kit Kat stand for? ›

Other Kit Kat fans speculate that the name is an acronym for “Keep In Touch, Kappa Alpha Theta.” The wife of Kit Kat inventor Joseph Rowntree was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, according to Mental Floss.

Is Kit Kat Nestle or Hershey? ›

In the US, Kit Kat is sold by Hershey. In the rest of the world, Nestlé's in charge. That means different flavors across the globe, and different recipes — even two versions of a dark chocolate Kit Kat, Hershey's and Nestlé's, don't taste the same.

How many fingers did the original Kit Kat have? ›

The original four-finger version of the bar was developed after a worker at the Rowntree's factory, York put a suggestion in the recommendation box for a snack that a "man could have in his lunch box for work".

What was the original name of Kit Kat? ›

The KIT KAT® candy bar dates back to 1935 when the wafer crisp chocolate bar was launched in England. Originally, it was known as “Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp,” but in 1937 the candy bar was renamed as "KIT KAT® Chocolate Crisp".

What is the break saying for Kit Kats? ›

'Have a break, have a KitKat' was introduced in 1957 by Donald Gilles, an employee at a London advertising agency.

What is the slogan of the Kit Kat bar? ›

Let's immerse ourselves in the simple yet powerful concept of KitKat's iconic advertising slogan: 'Have a break, have a KitKat. ' Introduced in 1937, Kitkat is one of the world's favorite chocolate brands and one of the most famous slogans.

Are KitKats made from broken KitKats? ›

"And that's what's inside of a Kit Kat bar – it's literally crushed up Kit Kats." The broken KitKats are turned into a paste, and is then used to sandwich the wafers together.

How many KitKats are made a day? ›

York is still the home of KitKat, with around 4.5 million bars made every day.

Is the filling in a Kit Kat broken up KitKats? ›

But did you ever wonder what's inside the wafer? As it turns out, every break of a Kit Kat bar is its own little Kit Kat-ception. The wafers are filled with other Kit Kats. You see, Kit Kat manufacturers leave no Kit Kat uneaten.

Are KitKats made of broken KitKats? ›

He says: "Some Kit Kats get broken while they're being made, and instead of throwing them out, the company crushes them up and adds sugar. "And that's what's inside of a Kit Kat bar – it's literally crushed up Kit Kats." The broken KitKats are turned into a paste, and is then used to sandwich the wafers together.

What is the crunchy stuff in KitKats? ›

In between the layers of wafer, there's a different type of chocolate. It's lighter in color, and has a much softer, more crumbly texture than the hard chocolate on the outside. That's because it's not actually chocolate; it's mashed up Kit Kats.

Why does Kit Kat chocolate taste different? ›

In the US, Kit Kat is sold by Hershey. In the rest of the world, Nestlé's in charge. That means different flavors across the globe, and different recipes — even two versions of a dark chocolate Kit Kat, Hershey's and Nestlé's, don't taste the same.

Why is Kit Kat being recalled? ›

Nestle recalls mini KitKat bars over potential plastic contamination.

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