From ‘Japanisation’ to deep cultural alignment, Nestlé KitKat is one of the few foreign brands to have thoroughly cracked Japan’s competitive chocolate market
KitKat may have originated in England but today is one of Japan’s most iconic confectionery brands, having established itself as a local speciality item for both locals and tourists.
According to Nestlé Japan Business Executive Officer (BEO) for Confectionery Olivier Jakubowicz, much of this success has revolved around a deep level of localisation.
“Any global brand that wants to truly become integrated in Japan has to Japanise itself, there is no way around it,” Jakubowicz told the floor at the recent Food and Beverage Innovation Forum (FBIF) in Hangzhou, China.
“This goes far beyond simply having the same product in a different local flavour launched in the market — it requires localisation in terms of innovation, in terms of positioning, in terms of route to market and so much more.”
As a clear case study, Japan is the one market worldwide where ‘Have a break, have a KitKat’ is not the slogan used for marketing as the positioning did not align.
“Instead, we found that every January KitKat sales would spike in Japan during the period of an important university entrance exam. Further analysis saw that KitKat was homophonically similar to ‘Kitto (Surely) Katsu (Win)’ in Japanese, which led to its popularity as a good luck gift for students during this time,” he said.
“Here, there was also a very important local cultural context to note which foreigners would find hard to understand: In Japan, feelings are not directly expressed even between intimate family, yet the love is still there and parents want to express support for their kids but fear pressuring them by wishing ‘good luck’ outright. This is why a gift of encouragement carries a much deeper, heavier meaning in this culture.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2026/05/19/surely-win-nestle-kitkats-secret-to-chocolate-success-in-japan/.
