A fun trend has gone viral on social media. In this, various big brands are searching for 12 tons of missing Kit Kats.

In Nepal, companies from Lcell to Century Masala, PhonePe, Trishara Restaurant, etc. have mentioned in their posts that they are searching for the missing Kit Kats but have not been able to find them. Internationally, Microsoft, Domino's Pizza, KFC, etc. are promoting themselves through creative posts with the idea of ​​'even if the chocolates are not found, our services are still there'.

This kind of marketing campaign started with a real incident in Europe. In the last week of March, about 12,000 kg (413,793 pieces) of Kit Kats were stolen from a truck heading from Italy to Poland. The stolen Kit Kats have not been found yet. After that incident, Nestle, the manufacturer of Kit Kat, made a sarcastic comment saying that the thieves took their slogan ‘Rest, Eat Kit Kat’ very seriously and took a break of 12,000 kg of Kit Kat. In addition, Nestle has also launched a website called ‘Stolen Kit Kat Tracker’ to identify lost Kit Kats. By visiting the website, customers can find out whether it is a stolen Kit Kat or not by entering the 8-digit batch number on the back of the Kit Kat shell. If someone’s Kit Kat matches the stolen batch, the website guides them on what to do and how to provide further information to the company. The incident of the missing Kit Kat has been dubbed ‘The Great Chocolate Heist’ on the internet.

Despite the theft of so many Kit Kat bars, Nestle has turned it into a creative marketing campaign instead of complaining about it. Interesting promotions are being made under the theme of Kit Kat’s slogan ‘Have a break, have a Kit Kat’. Established brands in Nepal also seem to be ‘trend jacking’ in their own style. Century Masala and Snacks has issued an official statement and made a fun post saying that they have searched everywhere for the lost Kit Kat but have not found it anywhere, instead people are enjoying their own Kurmur and Cheeseballs. Mudita Store has suggested taking a ‘performance break’ through a new laptop, saying that they are busy playing games and are late to listen to the news. Telecommunication service provider, Ncell, has expressed sympathy for the lost 12,000 kg of chocolate and has presented its cheap call rate offer along with ‘break’. Tech company PhonePe has joined the trend, saying that there is no illegal sale of KitKat anywhere among the millions of merchants in its network, but businesses are reassured by the PhonePe Business app.

Trishara Restaurant has expressed its condolences over the sad news of KitKat and announced that it will provide 1,000 Plate Buff Sukuti to anyone who provides concrete information about the missing shipment. Similarly, the Himalayan White House, considering the seriousness of the situation, has linked this trend to its business promotion by offering free visa processing for those visiting its office till April 15.

International brands such as Microsoft, Domino's Pizza, KFC, Durex have joined the trend. Domino's UK has jokingly announced that they will now start selling 'KitKat Pizza'. Cybersecurity companies like Kaspersky and McAfee have advertised that they are ready to protect data even if they cannot save chocolate. This campaign to find lost chocolate has now become a very effective and entertaining means of commercial promotion.