Japan’s Kit Kats Are Shrinking! Nestle Japan Announces Price Increases and Reduced Sizes for 133 Products
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Nestle is a household name around the world thanks to their popular coffee and snack products, but for travelers visiting Japan, there’s only one product that really matters: the Kit Kat. Thanks to the remarkable selection of interesting flavors available nowhere else, and their affordable convenience, Kit Kats have become a favorite souvenir from Japan. But travelers beware, Nestle Japan is planning a whole suite of cost-cutting measures, and the humble Kit Kat is in the crosshairs.
In the years since the pandemic, Japan has seen a steady rise in prices for products of all kinds, and food has been at the heart of these changes. Keen-eyed shoppers with a love for Japan’s crunchy chocolate treats have probably already noticed changes in Kit Kat pricing and packaging in recent years. In spring 2023, standard packages went from 13 to 12 pieces, and a year later Nestle decided to bring the count back up to 13 alongside an eye-watering price rise, from 540 yen to 685. Now, according to Japanese news reports, Nestle Japan will make even more dramatic changes, beginning in February 2025. More than 100 of their products, including coffee and snacks, will see a significant price increase from 13% to 20%. Kit Kats will be spared the price increase, only to get hit by some serious shrinkflation instead. The 685 price tag will stay the same, but Kit Kat bags will go from 13 to just 11 pieces.
Travelers who have visited Japan in recent years will be well aware of the weak yen, and all the benefits the situation provides for temporary visitors, but the weak yen is also at the root of the price changes and shrinkflation seen on Japanese store shelves. Nestle Japan’s announcement placed the blame on the yen’s prolonged depreciation, which has led to soaring costs for raw materials like coffee beans and cacao. “We have made every effort to reduce costs,” the company declared, “but the situation has exceeded what the company can manage through internal measures.”
If you love Japanese Kit Kats, and you’ll be in Japan this winter before the February shrinkflation, it looks like now’s the time to stock up on your favorites!
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Half a lifetime ago I came to Japan for a semester abroad... and I never left. I guess I really like the place! I spent my first few years in Japan living in the middle of nowhere, so I'd love to hear your Tokyo recommendations via Japan's social media accounts!
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The Chugoku Region (中国地方) consists of five prefectures: Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori, and Yamaguchi. In Chugoku you’ll find the sand dunes of Tottori, and Hiroshima’s atomic bomb site, plus centers of ancient history like Grand Shrine of Izumo.
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