KIT KAT Japan Case Study
The Japanese market has always been known for its strict market rules and
fierce brand competition. How to understand the subtle cultural details and adjust to
the preferences of local consumers to successfully localize the brand and open up
new sales channels has made many outsiders who are interested in entering Japan
trouble their brains. If you want to take a foreign brand into Japan as a model, you
must not miss the Japanese chocolate "Nestlé Kit Kat" that has been successfully
localized for many years.
In the early years, companies accidentally discovered that Kit Kat was often
used by high school students as a mascot to wish each other's exams smoothly
because of the Japanese pronunciation of Kit Kat sounds like “kitto katsu”, which
means "You will surely win" in Japanese. Today, one in three Japanese students
purchases Kit Kats before an entrance examination. One in five reportedly brings
Kit Kats to where they take the test! Besides, Kit Kat is constantly adapting to
changes in the Japanese market and adjusting its sales strategy. For example, to take
into account the tastes of the Japanese and personal preferences, the company has
developed new flavors of cheesecake and wasabi. The ingredients contained in the
product depending on the lifestyle and taste of citizens. Kit Kat offers green tea
flavors in Japan because of their preference for a healthy lifestyle.
To become part of the Japanese culture, KitKat packaging provides consumers
with some space to write personal good luck messages. Students eat KitKat
chocolate before the exam to get good grades. Moreover, in Japan, KitKat packaging
usually have bright colors to match the taste and various designs, because they are
usually mailed to family and friends as gifts through KIT mail. In Poland, KitKat is
often bought and included, along other confectionery products, in sniegust, a gift of
sweets, fruits, money, and clothes given to godchildren at Easter time. In the UK,
the product is often consumed with tea during breaks at work.
The culture of each country is different. Some countries are more
conservative, others are more open and casual. Therefore, the approach to marketing
such as the messaging, creative, PR, advertising, and channels will change for each
market you move into. For example, the UK marketing campaign aims to associate
Kit Kat with people’s rest time (such as coffee breaks), so the entire focus of the
work is to make Kit Kat a part of people’s break time. Whereas, Japan Kit Kat
adjusted its unique positioning based on local conditions. As mentioned earlier, Kit
Kat means a certain amount of good luck in Japanese culture. Therefore, during the
test season in Japan, Kit Kat Japan will launch a special edition for test takers, with
words of encouragement printed on the chocolate packaging. Not only test takers
will use Kit Kat as a "pre-test blessing", and test takers will exchange Kit Kat to
express their best wishes to their friends. Nestle has successfully differentiated the
brand by understanding how the brand was used in the local cultural context as
“Have a break, have a KitKat,” does not have the same meaning to the Japanese.
The reason of why so many different flavors have been developed for the
Japanese market but not in other countries which is mainly because of the cultural
differences. Such success is clearly tied to the country’s preference for unusual
flavors. Because the Japanese like to seek new tendencies and trends, experimental
tastes and sense of style. However, if the same strategy is used in other countries, it
may be unacceptable due to cultural differences. Because not so many people will
accept “special” flavors, such as wasabi, sake, ginger, etc.
Questions
1. The initial success of Kit Kat in Japan was accidental. Discuss how Kit Kat
adapted the product and marketed it in UAE & Hawaii to appeal to local
cultures of its consumers.
2. Identify and elaborate on 2 other instances where culturally adapting products
to various nations helped the brand gain popularity and success in the region.
3. Nestlé is planning on releasing a new flavor for Kit Kat in the Indian market,
in coherence with its culture. Discuss what flavor it should release and how
should it be marketed.
