| Analysts believe the idea is to target Indian and
Asian customers, who are increasingly being factored into marketing
plans in view of the strength of the Asian middle class - popularly
known as the strength of the 'brown pound'.
Among the new flavours being tested are savoury varieties containing
cumin and 'masala' - both staple spices used in Indian curry dishes.
Other new flavours include liquorice, saffron and passion fruit.
Although Kit Kat is Britain's most popular chocolate snack, sales
have dropped by 5.4 per cent to 116 million pounds in the past year.
Sales of Kit Kat Chunky have plummeted 18 per cent to 50.5 million
pounds.
Industry analysts say a growing trend towards healthier lifestyles
is putting people off buying chocolate bars. Lemon Cheesecake Kit
Kat, which is already sold in Germany and Japan, may be imported
into the UK as a limited edition.
Nestle Rowntree MD Chris White confirmed that the York-based firm
was looking to launch a range of new flavours over the next year.
But he said it was too early to say which would be the first to
go on sale and denied that the company was specifically targeting
Asian or Indian customers with the exotically spiced varieties.
White said, "We're doing this because we want to sell more,
make more money and grow our market share."
It's not the first time food companies have reinvented products
to boost flagging sales. In recent years Nestle has brought out
White Maltesers, Pink Yorkies and the infamous Blue Smarties. Heinz
Ketchup came out in green, purple and orange to appeal to kids.
But analysts believe that such drastic change could backfire. In
the mid-1980s Coke, despite being the number one fizzy drink, decided
to reinvent itself as New Coke. The new formula was rejected so
strongly that Coca-Cola had to restore Classic Coke back to the
shelves.
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