Geneva.- A shipment of
twelve tons of KitKat chocolates, a brand of the multinational food company Nestlé, was stolen during its transportation by truck in Europe, the company reported this Saturday.
Nestlé linked this event to the upcoming celebration of
Easter, a period during which chocolate consumption increases considerably in numerous European countries, in the form of eggs or children’s figures made of chocolate.
He warned that the theft – which occurred last week while the truck was traveling between production and distribution centers – could cause shortages on the shelves just before the religious holiday.
The truck, which was transporting 413,793 units of the popular brand, had left central Italy and was heading towards Poland, with the intention of distributing the chocolate bars in the countries it was passing through.
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The vehicle, which was attacked in a place that the company has not specified, as well as the cargo,
have not been located, while an investigation is underway involving local authorities and supply chain partners.
The company fears that the product may “enter unofficial sales channels in European markets.”
“The theft occurs shortly after a joint report by the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) and the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) EMEA, which pointed to an alarming increase in cargo theft and fraud in the transport of goods, with increasingly sophisticated methods of deception,” commented Nestlé.
For its part, Kitkat indicated that it can track stolen products by scanning the barcodes of each unit.
“In case of a match, the scanner will receive clear instructions on how to alert KitKat, which in turn will transmit this information to the relevant authorities,” he said.
