Doing business in Japan - Surprising Popularity of Nestle KitKat on Japanese Market

Seakling Duong

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Traveling from the United Kingdom, KitKat first debuted in Japan in 1973 as a British chocolate bar wrapped in its iconic red packaging. Around three decades later, Nestlé in Japan discovered its distinct market and embraced a different marketing approach than in the U.K. by positioning KitKat as a lucky charm to support students, and, later, as a regional souvenir for travelers. The diploma thesis aims to shed light on the factors and unique set of marketing strategies adopted by Nestlé Japan that contribute to KitKat’s popularity in Japan. The thesis is divided into theoretical and practical parts, and both quantitative and qualitative approaches are applied. The theoretical part includes an overview of Nestlé’s KitKat, marketing analyses, concepts of branding, and wordplay strategy. In the practical part, secondary data was collected to conduct an extended SWOT Analysis and to analyze the unique characteristics of KitKat, Nestlé 's strategic decisions capitalizing on those characteristics, KitKat’s emotional resonation with Japanese consumers, and how KitKat transformation aligns with the National branding concept in Japan. Primary data was collected through a survey to gain insights into KitKat Japan from consumers’ perspectives. Survey results are closely aligned with the study’s findings. The thesis has proven the existing effectiveness of Nestlé’s advertising strategies including the impacts of wordplay marketing and KitKat's status as a lucky charm and as a souvenir.

Keywords

Japan, Culture, Nestlé, Rowntree, KitKat, Glocalization, Marketing, Wordplay, Consumer, Lucky Charm

Jazyk práce: English

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 2. 12. 2023

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Obhajoba proběhla 27. 5. 2024
• Vedúci: Ing. Richard Selby, Ph.D.
• Oponent: Dagmar Charvátová, externi

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Economics and Management

Master programme:
Economics and Management