KitKat Launches Online Tracker After Heist

KitKat is asking candy lovers to play detective after a truckload of its bars vanished somewhere between Italy and Poland. Nestlé says thieves made off with more than 12 tons—about 414,000 bars—of its new Formula 1 car–shaped KitKats last week, and neither the vehicle nor the chocolate has turned up. In response, the brand has rolled out an online "stolen KitKat tracker" where customers in Europe can plug in the eight-digit batch code from the wrapper to see if their bar might be part of the missing haul, USA Today reports.

KitKat launched the tracker on April 1, and insisted in posts on X that "this is not a stunt, or an April Fool's gag," Mashable reports. Nestlé hasn't detailed what happens if a stolen code is flagged, beyond saying people will get instructions on how to alert the company as it works with authorities. The food giant says supplies to stores are unaffected but warns the candy "could enter unofficial sales channels across European markets." The heist has also turned into a marketing moment, with brands from Domino's to Outback Steakhouse chiming in online with tongue-in-cheek "condolences" and promo tie-ins. (Nestlé's response to the heist has been praised as a "master class in PR.")