You Wouldn't Recognize The First Kit Kat Bars
Every sweet tooth has their go-to candy bar, and Kit Kats are among some of the most universally loved. In fact, Nestle, via Mvorganizing, claims 650 Kit Kat bars are consumed every second around the world. Along with the popular jingle — "Gimme a break, gimme a break....break me off a piece of that Kit Kat bar!" – the candy is easily identifiable due to its bright red wrapper. But that wasn't always the case. The first Kit Kat bar to hit the shelves would hardly be noticeable to Kit Kat lovers today as its wrapper was once blue.
First entering the candy scene in the UK back in 1935, the Kit Kat was originally named Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp and wrapped in a red wrapper (via Nestle Travel Retail). Two years later, it was given a new name: Kit Kat Chocolate Crisp. The candy bar's popularity boomed so rapidly that Rowntree's was forced to consider ingredient shortages amid World War II and tweaked the recipe in 1941. The scarcity of milk, specifically, pushed the candy makers to use dark chocolate as opposed to milk chocolate, greatly altering the taste (via The Fact Site). That's when the stand-out blue-wrapped Kit Kat came into play. The fine print on the wrapper explained that Chocolate Crisps were on hold until the war ended and they could get their hands on the desired ingredients.
Kit Kat's blue wrappers were retired in 1949
After the end of World War II, Rowntree's revisited the original candy bar name and wrapper. Then, in 1949, Chocolate Crisp was dropped from the name and ever since, the candy has been known as Kit Kat and been sold in rep wrappers. Sales steadily increased from there and eventually, Kit Kats made their way to other countries. The crispy wafer that we all know and love today can be found in over 80 countries, according to Nestle Travel Retail. Among those countries, up to 300 different flavors of the candy bar exist, from orange to miso soup (via The Fact Site).
Kit Kats are clearly a hot commodity, as the tasty chocolate wafer bar has been cornered by two of the most well-known candy manufacturers in the world: Hershey and Nestle. If you're ever snacking on a Kit Kat bar overseas and are convinced it tastes a tad different than the ones in the states, there may be a reason. Nestle bought out the Kit Kat creators, Rowntree's, and continues to produce Kit Kats globally, although Hershey strictly produces the candy bar in the U.S. and has since 1970, confirms Hershey Land.