KITKAT CHUNKY - THE BRAND STORY
Market Analysis
KitKat is the number one confectionery brand in the UK, so why worry about consumer research? Because, however well we're doing today, we want to do even better tomorrow. If you ask Nestlé people who came up with the idea for KitKat Chunky, they always say 'the consumer!' But it was the analysts who first picked up the fact that KitKat was under-performing in the youth market. Sophisticated financial analysis and market modelling gave us the impetus to extend the brand. The question was, how?
Packaging Design
Packaging has a complex dual role in food manufacturing: it has to keep the product absolutely fresh, but it is also has to say "buy me!" to the customer. We went for flow-wrapped packaging because it offers airtight protection, but it's also economical to create on large, high-speed packaging operations. When it came to the graphic treatment, we blended familiar with new, so that we benefit from the KitKat heritage but signal very clearly that this is something different. The famous KitKat logo is featured in wraparound format that accentuates the size of the bar. Our use of the upper case K in the word Chunky meant that we could trademark the name. We had to get special permission from Corporate HQ in Vevey to turn the Nestlé logo up on its end, but it gave the packaging a really stylish and contemporary feel.
Product Development
The development team proposed a number of possible contenders, but we finally whittled it down to two favourites - a chunky twin-fingered bar and a single finger bar - each covered with thick chocolate. Both performed well in early focus group research, but we finally decided that the single-finger route was the way to go. It's worth noting that a number of different disciplines had a hand in the final choice, from sales and marketing to finance and manufacturing management.
Engineering
It's one thing to come up with a great product, but it's quite another to build a high-speed, high-volume manufacturing line to make it. How do you get the chocolate density right without crushing the wafer? How do you keep the product cool when the production process generates so much heat? Are you going to build a brand new production line or convert an existing one? The answers are commercially sensitive but there's no doubt that the innovative thinking of the engineering team was instrumental in KitKat Chunky becoming a reality.
Launch Publicity
We knew we had a great product and we knew we could make it. The next big step was to make sure the consumer knew about it. We already had immense excitement within the business because we knew we were on to a winner. Now we had to transmit that enthusiasm to our trading partners, customers and consumers. The sales and marketing team produced a strong promotional programme with striking point-of-sale displays, advertising and merchandising materials. However, the PR team scored the biggest coup of the campaign when they achieved a live TV announcement of the launch, with Johnny Vaughan enthusiastically brandishing a KitKat Chunky on the Big Breakfast.
Logistics
Partly because the marketing was so powerful (and mostly because the product is just great!), the sales figures outstripped our most ambitious estimates. We simply couldn't make enough KitKat Chunkys to satisfy demand. A nice problem to have, you might think, but not one we could allow to continue. Initially we actually had to ration warehouse supplies until manufacturing could catch up. Then we rolled up our sleeves and went into production overdrive. We converted the manufacturing line to round-the-clock operations and commandeered a second plant to boost production further. The HR and production teams came up with special overtime and working arrangements as part of an emergency action plan. Once again, there was a huge buzz within the business with a sense that everyone was pulling together. By the end of the year, we had produced around 13,000 tonnes of product - not bad when you think we were originally aiming for just 2,500 tonnes!
Accounting for success
It's clear that KitKat Chunky was one of the most successful chocolate confectionery launches in recent history. The impact on the confectionery trade and the consumer has been phenomenal, but it is only a beginning. Now the challenge is to sustain and build the momentum through continuing innovation and teamwork across different functions. As we said before, this is just one product and one brand. But it's also worth bearing in mind that there are many other roles not mentioned here, from Health & Safety Officers to Corporate Lawyers, who have a key part to play in Nestlé success stories.
