How the UK gave the world this quintessential chocolate wafer bar

For nearly a century, York has been home to one of the world’s most popular chocolate bars: KitKat.

Originally launched in 1935 as Rowntree’s Chocolate Crisp, the much-loved treat has been made in the historic city ever since.

Today, under the ownership of Nestlé, the York factory continues to be the beating heart of KitKat production - not just for the UK, but for markets around the world.

Behind the scenes, a team of dedicated experts is constantly innovating and refining the product to meet modern demands while preserving the classic taste generations have grown up with.

Helping to produce one of the UK’s favourite chocolate bars as an actual job is something most of us can only dream of doing. But for Rob Jackson, a product and process specialist at Nestlé working on KitKat, it’s a reality.

Rob entered the world of confectionery eight years ago. He doesn’t have a foodie background, but instead came with a master’s degree in forensic anthropology and experience in teaching.

“I wanted the opportunity to work in a real-world science lab that had a practical industrial application,” he explains.

“Nestlé was looking for a lab technician at its global confectionery R&D (Research and Development) centre here in York, and I thought: 'what a great role'.”

Since joining Nestlé, Rob has worked in different departments – from the lab, to the healthy snacking and KitKat team in the Product Technology Centre, to his current role in the factory itself, which he describes as “really varied”.

Rob and his team are continuously working on tweaks and improvements. “There are always new things happening, even to our core products,” he explains.

“It could be testing a new ingredient or making slight tweaks to a recipe. Or it