KitKat Pursues Recovery Efforts Amid Large Theft

(SeaPRwire) –   Over 400,000 KitKat bars have gone missing. And no, this is not an April Fool’s prank.

The brand has confirmed that roughly 12 tons of its chocolate bars, which add up to 413,793 individual KitKats, were stolen last week during transit across Europe. On Wednesday, it rolled out a “Stolen KitKat Tracker,” calling on the public to help locate the missing confectionery.

“Just to clear this up, this is not a publicity stunt, nor is it an April Fool’s joke,” KitKat shared in a post on X. “Someone actually stole 12 tonnes of KitKats. And we genuinely want to find out where they have gone.”

Nestlé, which distributes KitKat in all countries except the U.S., confirmed to TIME that the new feature is no gimmick. (Truly.)

Here is all the key information you need to know about the stolen shipment and the efforts to recover the goods.

What happened to the missing KitKat bars?

KitKat reported that a truck carrying the candy bars was stolen while traveling from a factory in central Italy to a destination in Poland. The bars were scheduled to be distributed across the entire European continent.

“We have always encouraged people to take a break with KITKAT—but it seems thieves took that message far too literally and made off with more than 12 tonnes of our chocolate,” a KitKat spokesperson said in an official statement. “While we can appreciate the criminals have excellent taste, the fact remains that cargo theft is a growing problem for businesses of every size.”

The spokesperson added that the company chose to make the theft public “in the hope that it will raise awareness of a criminal trend that is becoming increasingly common.”

KitKat reassured customers that “there are no consumer safety concerns related to this incident, and product supply has not been impacted.”

What is the current status of the investigation?

Nestlé told TIME on Wednesday that the truck and the KitKats it was transporting are still unaccounted for, and the investigation is still in progress. KitKat stated on Sunday that it is “working closely with local law enforcement and supply chain partners to look into” the theft.

KitKat noted that it suspects the stolen goods “may make their way into unregulated sales channels across European markets.”

How does the “Stolen KitKat Tracker” function?

KitKat announced on Wednesday that it had launched the tracker on its official website to help identify and locate the stolen candy bars. Customers can visit the dedicated webpage, then input the eight-digit batch number printed on the back of their KitKat bar. When the user hits “enter,” the website will inform them whether their KitKat is part of the 413,793 bars that were stolen.

“Help us find these missing bars. Use the Stolen KitKat Tracker,” KitKat urged customers in a social media post.