12 tons of KitKats vanished in a European highway heist

12 tons of KitKats were stolen in transit between Italy and Poland. Kevin Carter/Getty Images 2026-03-30T03:31:14.788Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Impact Link Save Saved Read in app Loading audio narration... This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. A major chocolate heist saw more than 400,000 bars of chocolate go missing in Europe. Nestlé said 12 tons of KitKats were stolen between Italy and Poland. The company said supply would not be affected because of the robbery. AI-generated summary Summaries are generated by an AI model trained on Business Insider's articles. AI may make mistakes or provide inaccurate/incomplete information. We're unable to load that answer right now. Please try again. How do companies secure goods in transit? Why are special edition products targeted? What role do partnerships play in branding? What are the impacts of cargo theft on businesses? How has Nestlé responded to past thefts? Nestlé said it was the target of a major chocolate heist last week. "We can confirm that 12T of KitKat products were stolen while in transit between our factory in Central Italy and their destination in Poland," KitKat said in a Sunday Instagram statement.The company said it was working with local authorities and supply chain partners to investigate the case. "The good news: there are no concerns for consumer safety, and supply is not affected," it added.Several media outlets reported that 12 tons amounts to more than 400,000 bars of the crunchy wafer chocolate, and that the robbery happened on Thursday. The bars weren't regular KitKats, but rather special Formula 1 bars in the shape of F1 cars, per reporting from The New York Times. KitKat announced in June last year that it was an official partner for the motorcar racing league.Nestlé took the opportunity to make some chocolate jokes in its statements to multiple media outlets. "Whilst we appreciate the criminals' exceptional taste, the fact remains that cargo theft is an escalating issue for businesses of all sizes," a Nestlé spokesperson told the LA Times."We've always encouraged people to have a break with KitKat," a Nestlé spokesperson said to The Guardian. "But it seems thieves have taken the message too literally and made a break with more than 12 tons of our chocolate." KitKat is an important product for Nestlé. The Swiss food company said in its full-year 2025 report that its confectionery business grew 8.2% to 8.70 billion Swiss Francs, or about $10.89 billion. This was led by KitKat sales, the company said.Nestlé stock price is down more than 10% in the past year.