Dubai
Nestle, the Swiss food giant, is never one to miss out on an opportunity, especially when it comes to spreading the flavour with its KitKat range. That means taking its four new flavours — tested and developed at its Dubai factory — to markets beyond the Middle East.
It was last week the multinational announced the four new flavours — Cherry Brownie, Strawberry Cheesecake, Crème Brulée, and Tiramisu — for KitKat consumers in the UAE and their counterparts elsewhere in the region. That’s just the start — “We look forward to expanding this local innovation to global markets,” said Yves Manghardt, Chairman and CEO, Nestlé M. E..
“With the “Mini Moments Desserts”, our objective was to leverage our local manufacturing capabilities and expand our offering through real dessert recipes that are loved in the Middle East. The confectionery team conducted qualitative research with consumers, where the four new recipes ranked highest.
“These recipes are one of their kind for KitKat, where we went beyond variety of flavours to include dual filling.”
It took the team the better part of a year to make the new versions commercially available “with all its ingredients and flavours”. The Dubai facility in Jebel Ali Free Zone was commissioned in 2010, and its output includes Mackintosh’s Quality Street and dairy products such as Nido Fortified, apart from the KitKat, of course. The flagship KitKat Milk Chocolate takes up about 70 per cent of the plant’s current production.
Interestingly, the manufacturer chose the “mini” format rather than generic “finger” variant for these Made in the UAE flavours. And there’s quite a valid reason for that.
“When it comes to the portion, we are committed to providing the right size, ingredients and nutritional value,” said Manghardt. “This is why the new Mini Moments Desserts — and all our local innovations — are in mini portion. “We also ensure to provide on all our packaging of the pack guideline daily amount (GDA) to inform them [consumers] of the right portion for all our products. So the four-finger KitKat comprises of two servings and so on.”
