Nestle - changing the just the package or the brand?
Nestle have changes the packaging of their Kit Kat product, but are they changing the brand.
The distinctive foil package allowed consumers not only to experience the brand through the product itself but the tactile nature of the package enhanced the brand experience. Running your thumb down between the bars chocolate fingers and snapping open the bar has been part of the brand and part of the experience, will the change damage the brand. It has featured as part of the brand advertising - the 'have a break, have a kit kat' tag line often underpinned by the visual evidence of a user opening the foil wrapper. Aficionados also relate the pleasure of rubbing the foil against the bar to reveal the branding on the products fingers as part of their experience. For them there is no substitute for the feel of the old package.
In their defense Gareth Williams fom Nestle said that the new plastic package offers a 'Fresher look' and a better crisper taste. Extensive research and development has resulted in a design that can still be opened by running a thumb nail down the bar. He also assured consumers that the product will not be altered.
Of course although new to the UK market the Kit Kat brand has been offered to several European markets in a plastic outer for some time to meet the needs of warmer climates.
For more information on the Brand : http://www.kitkat.co.uk/