Nestlé Opens First Factory In 26 Years Due To Japan's Kit Kat Variety Obsession

American chocolate Kit Kats are the Halloween candy that you never say no to but won't mind trading for say, a Butterfinger. The Japanese matcha-flavored Kit Kats or the strawberry cheesecake ones, however, you will protect with your life.

In America it may seem like these wild flavors are hard to come by. There are Amazon and eBay shops that exclusively sell Japanese Kit Kat flavors to the West. We are so enchanted by the variety that websites like BuzzFeed produce long videos sampling and discussing what flavors like golden citrus, sweet pudding, and wasabi Kit Kats taste like.

But even the Japanese are obsessed with Japanese Kit Kat flavors. The widely loved chocolate is in such high demand that Nestlé Japan is opening its first factory in 26 years to keep up with the high demand for flavor variety.

Kit Kat is the number one chocolate brand in Japan. With 30 different flavor varieties, around 4 million of the chocolate wafer candies are sold every day in the country, with even more shipped globally. Specialty Kit Kat chocolate shops have become one of Japan's leading tourist attractions. Not only do these shops sell the multitude of Kit Kat flavors, but they also sell Kit Kat branded cheesecakes, sandwiches, and even candies that you can bake on your own.

"Premiumization is one of Nestlé's global key growth pillars. For Japan this is particularly relevant as we are operating in a highly saturated market environment," Nestlé Japan spokesman, Takuya Hiramatsu, told News.com.au. "Through the new factory, we accelerate the premiumization strategy."

For Kit Kat, premiumization means convincing consumers to relish those matcha-flavored bars instead of just grabbing a Kit Kat in the checkout aisle. We can only hope Nestlé's strategy means they'll be creating, selling, and shipping more tasty Kit Kat flavors like lemon cheesecake, café au lait, passion fruit, and yuzu straight to our doors.