Innovation watch: Japanese KitKat you can bake

Related tags Japan Chocolate Kit kat Kitkat

Have a bake, Have a KitKat...only in Japan

Nestlé has developed a new mini KitKat that can be eaten as a chocolate bar or bake in the oven for two minutes to become like a crispy cookie.

The product was developed by Japanese chocolatier Takagi, who recently helped Nestlé introduce the world’s first Kit Kat boutique in Japan.

It will be released across Japan from 24 March in two varieties: KitKat mini original chocolate and KitKat mini pudding.

Japan has been an innovation hub for the KitKat brand in recent years as the company have introduced unique flavors such as wasabi, green tea, cantaloupe and soup flavors.

In 2012, Nestlé’s KitKat overtook Meiji as the leading chocolate brand in Japan. However, Meiji is still the leading chocolate company in Japan with a 17.9% market share, According to Euromonitor International, Nestlé trails on 7.3% behind Korean firm Lotte and Japanese confectioner Morinaga.

The Japanese chocolate market is much more mature than surrounding countries in Asia. While markets such as China and Indonesia have recorded rapid growth in the past five years, the Japanese chocolate market has remained relatively flat on JPY 346.8 ($3.7bn), according to Euromonitor.