The hijacking of rare Japanese KitKats
straitstimes.com
The hijacking of rare Japanese KitKats
1–10 of 180 posts
Re: The hijacking of rare Japanese KitKats
#2I know this is an unimportant thing, but why tf doesn’t kit kat just sell desirable flavors here themselves? What is the deal with the boner these companies have about withholding certain flavors in certain markets?
Re: The hijacking of rare Japanese KitKats
#3Wait what was the scam how did it work? Was the plan to ransom the container to the owner?
Re: The hijacking of rare Japanese KitKats
#4I know this is an unimportant thing, but why tf doesn’t kit kat just sell desirable flavors here themselves? What is the deal with the boner these companies have about withholding certain flavors in certain markets?
Presumably in this case it has something to do with how Hershey owns the rights for Kit-Kat in the USA, but Nestle everywhere (at least as far as I know) else.
Re: The hijacking of rare Japanese KitKats
#5I know this is an unimportant thing, but why tf doesn’t kit kat just sell desirable flavors here themselves? What is the deal with the boner these companies have about withholding certain flavors in certain markets?
The manufacturers likely don't want to deal with additional SKUs and logistics for what is a low volume item in those regions. Allergies/ingredient disclosure might present challenges as well.
Re: The hijacking of rare Japanese KitKats
#6I know this is an unimportant thing, but why tf doesn’t kit kat just sell desirable flavors here themselves? What is the deal with the boner these companies have about withholding certain flavors in certain markets?
Because it's two different companies.
KitKat around the world is Nestle. KitKat in the US is under license to Hershey. Licensing is expensive.
Re: The hijacking of rare Japanese KitKats
#7I know this is an unimportant thing, but why tf doesn’t kit kat just sell desirable flavors here themselves? What is the deal with the boner these companies have about withholding certain flavors in certain markets?
Japanese retail space (as in, the physical space available in the stores) favors small batches. US retail space favors economies of scale.
Re: The hijacking of rare Japanese KitKats
#8I know this is an unimportant thing, but why tf doesn’t kit kat just sell desirable flavors here themselves? What is the deal with the boner these companies have about withholding certain flavors in certain markets?
KitKat in the USA is run by Hershey.
KitKat globally is run by Nestle.
That's one reason why.
The second is that in Japan Kit Kat sounds like "good luck" which is why they became popular, and two, why we see such regional variation.
(I have 4 Japanese flavors in my NYC fridge right now -- Sweet Potato, Adult Sweetness, Wheat, and Caramel Pudding (which you bake!)
Re: The hijacking of rare Japanese KitKats
#9I know this is an unimportant thing, but why tf doesn’t kit kat just sell desirable flavors here themselves? What is the deal with the boner these companies have about withholding certain flavors in certain markets?
Because it's two different companies. KitKat around the world is Nestle. KitKat in the US is under license to Hershey. Licensing is expensive.
It's Nestle in the UK, and they don't sell the Japanese bonus snacks here either.
Re: The hijacking of rare Japanese KitKats
#10So this guy whose job it is to hire truckers to move goods fell for the same scam twice in a row? Fool me once, etc, etc...