Asia & the Pacific, Editor’s Pick



In a promotion reminiscent of Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Japanese chocolate lovers with cash to burn will soon be able to buy golden KitKats.

KitKat Chocolatery shop, Tokyo.

KitKat Chocolatery shop, Tokyo. Image by Karl Baron / CC BY 2.0

Though more than five of the coveted golden bars will be produced, the run is extremely limited with Nestle releasing just 500 for sale, exclusively in Japan. The Sublime Golden KitKat will be covered in gold leaf and apparently has a rich, bitter chocolate taste.  Hand-wrapped, each finger will sell for 2,016 yen (roughly ₤10) and will be available to purchase from KitKat Chocolatories in eight department stores throughout the country next month.

But wait…there’s more. Those who join the KitKat Chocolatory’s membership programme will go in the running to win a 230g 24 karat solid gold KitKat. It’s all very Willy Wonka.

Japan to introduce gold kitkats to their range.

Japan to introduce gold kitkats to their range. Image by suhakri_hsu / CC BY 2.0

It’s not the first quirky KitKat produced for the Japanese market and it’s unlikely to be the last. Nestle has created over 200 unique flavours for the Japanese market including wasabi, purple sweet potato, strawberry, Shinshu Apple, hot chilli, blueberry cheesecake and matcha-green tea. “In Japanese convenience stores, consumers are used to having new varieties all the time,” Nestle Japan spokeswoman Melanie Kohli told AFP.

Kohli explained the huge success of these unique flavours as being connected to the Japanese ‘omiyage’ culture, in which one brings family and work colleagues a gift from the region they have visited upon returning home. “Japan is the only place where you can have such a variety of KitKat flavours, something linked to that regional culture.”