It wasn't actually that exact amount. It was "about 12 tons", and somebody did the 12000 kg / 29g calculation and used the answer with way too many significant digits. Probably the reporter trying to make the 12 ton number relatable.
(You might object that KitKats usually weigh 40g. So these were probably the new KitKat Icon F1 chocolates, which weigh exactly 29g.)
My brain went here too. I'm guessing that one box missed the truck (either it was damaged during loading or had a manufacturing defect), so a full shipment is 3 x 3 x 23 x 2000. So my SWAG:
“We’ve always encouraged people to have a break with KITKAT — but it seems thieves have taken the message too literally and made a break with more than 12 tonnes of our chocolate,” a KitKat spokesperson said in a statement. “Whilst we appreciate the criminals’ exceptional taste, the fact remains that cargo theft is an escalating issue for businesses of all sizes. With more sophisticated schemes being deployed on a regular basis, we have chosen to go public with our own experience in the hope that it raises awareness of an increasingly common criminal trend.”
Can't help but think of George Clooney orchestrating the heist from his villa in Lago di Como (with a perfect alibi somehow). Maybe Brad Pitt was hungry.
I had a coworker who would fly to SE Asia a few times a year, he'd always bring back a small suitcase of insane KitKat flavors from Tokyo airport (or nearby). One time he had a bunch of varieties of green tea KitKats, never seen anything close to that in the US.
The product is a minimum of 25% cocoa solids and the oils are listed after that on the ingredients list, which means by weight they are more cocoa than oil.
Whereas the article and Nestlé themselves state there is a production site in Italy:
Swiss food giant Nestlé says about 12 tons, or 413,793 candy bars, of its KitKat chocolate brand were stolen after leaving its production site in Italy earlier this week for Poland.
I can't help wondering how the 413,793 bars were stacked.
413,793 is 3×3×23×1999.
It wasn't actually that exact amount. It was "about 12 tons", and somebody did the 12000 kg / 29g calculation and used the answer with way too many significant digits. Probably the reporter trying to make the 12 ton number relatable.
(You might object that KitKats usually weigh 40g. So these were probably the new KitKat Icon F1 chocolates, which weigh exactly 29g.)
My brain went here too. I'm guessing that one box missed the truck (either it was damaged during loading or had a manufacturing defect), so a full shipment is 3 x 3 x 23 x 2000. So my SWAG:
1 box = 3 x 3 x 23 bars
1 pallet = 10 x 10 boxes
1 truck = 20 pallets
How did they come up with an odd number when individual packs are an even number of bars? (And, I imagine, cartons are a multiple of dozens of packs.)
Is this set up for a remake of the Italian job?
Were electric minis used in this heist? Was the Turin traffic system hacked?
Were only the doors blown off (come on baby light my fire)?
Let's hope the investors have a break (through)
Agreed, give em a break, give em a break
Interesting story. Dan Wells and Brandon Sanderson will be very happy. :)
Don’t KitKats have AoP status and can only authentically be made in York?
The craze for Japanese KitKats being an exception.
Having bought a triple pack of 7 double finger KitKats in the nineties and eating them all in 20 minutes I can’t even look at a pack anymore.
Anyone else find the exact number somewhat weird. Like one would expect it to end in 0 or 2 or 5...
The total weight probably ends in a 0 or a 5.
Reads like a PR stunt to me
Spot on! I've never thought about the Associated Press as a launderer of PR stunts, but here we are: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7154143/2026/03/28/f1-kitka...
“We’ve always encouraged people to have a break with KITKAT — but it seems thieves have taken the message too literally and made a break with more than 12 tonnes of our chocolate,” a KitKat spokesperson said in a statement. “Whilst we appreciate the criminals’ exceptional taste, the fact remains that cargo theft is an escalating issue for businesses of all sizes. With more sophisticated schemes being deployed on a regular basis, we have chosen to go public with our own experience in the hope that it raises awareness of an increasingly common criminal trend.”
The irony of Nestle asking to alert and help them finding the criminals.
Well, there are good criminals, who are democraticaly elected and share the profit, and bad criminals, who keep the profit for themselves.
I just realized that I've not seen them in a supermarket like for ages (in France). Together with Bounty, Mars,Snickers,.. the stuff of my youth
Can't help but think of George Clooney orchestrating the heist from his villa in Lago di Como (with a perfect alibi somehow). Maybe Brad Pitt was hungry.
The sad thing is KitKat isn't even very good.
Not in the US they aren't, since they're made by Hershey and not Nestle and so are a completely different product.
I had a coworker who would fly to SE Asia a few times a year, he'd always bring back a small suitcase of insane KitKat flavors from Tokyo airport (or nearby). One time he had a bunch of varieties of green tea KitKats, never seen anything close to that in the US.
They are quite expensive and there is not something similar on the market (even not from house brands of Aldi, Lidl, etc).
Cadbury have TimeOut but it's not quite the same. (It's lighter, less chocolate and less dense)
Clearly intended to be the direct competitor though, since "Have a break, have a KitKat" is the KitKat slogan, and timeout is also a break.
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/316651552
For resale or personal use, I wonder ...
Food heist!
That was me, sorry, I just love KitKats.
(So as to avoid being like the Robin Hood Airport guy, I'd like to say the above was a joke)
I'd wager the entire load collectively contained only 90 kg of cocoa and 10 tons of so-called "certified responsibly sourced" palm kernel oil.
The product is a minimum of 25% cocoa solids and the oils are listed after that on the ingredients list, which means by weight they are more cocoa than oil.
Sarcasm woosh.
Any alternate source of fuel in a petrol crisis, really. If someone figures out how to run car on Kit Kats I’m sure there’ll be a market.
You forgot the ... white death: sugar.
Food for comedians for the next few months lol
The question is why would they produce them in Italy. Most of the food on Polish shelves that can be produced in Poland, is.
Why not? It doesn't make much sense for Nestlé to have plants in every EU country.
The wikipedia page doesn't list Italy as one of the countries where they are produced.
Whereas the article and Nestlé themselves state there is a production site in Italy:
~ submission linked articleYou overestimate Wikipedia.
good
i agree