Who owns KitKat?
KitKat is owned by Nestlé (Switzerland, SIX: NESN), which has owned the brand since 1988.[1][2]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Nestlé S.A. Annual Report 2025, 19 February 2026. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Nestlé S.A. reported
- Owned since
- Owner HQ
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland, Vevey
- Origin
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, York
- Founded
- 1935
- Category
- Food › Confectionery › Chocolate
- Parent ticker
- SIX: NESN
- Trademark registrant
- SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE S.A. (USPTO)
- Last verified
- · 3 sources
About KitKat
KitKat was created by Rowntree's of York in 1935 as Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp, four fingers of wafer in chocolate designed as a snack a worker could carry in a lunch box. Nestlé acquired it with Rowntree in 1988 and owns it worldwide except in the United States, where The Hershey Company holds a perpetual licence.
Trademark record for KitKat
The USPTO record for the KitKat mark lists SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE S.A. as the owner of record (serial number 73044306). That name matches the owner named above.[3]
Ownership timeline of KitKat
Where KitKat sits in Nestlé
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Nestlé ownership tree →
See the full Nestlé brand portfolio (32) →
Other brands owned by Nestlé
Nestlé controls 32 brands on Brandtree, 18 of them in food.
Also in food
- Aero (1935)
- Boost (1994)
- Carnation (1899)
- Cerelac (1867)
- Chocapic (1984)
- Coffee mate (1961)
- Fitness (1993)
- Garden Gourmet (1996)
- Gerber (1927)
- Hot Pockets (1983)
- La Lechera (1925)
- Lean Cuisine (1981)
- Maggi (1884)
- NAN (1962)
- Nestlé Toll House (1939)
- Smarties (1937)
- Stouffer's (1922)
Founded in the 1930s
Other brands in chocolate, and who owns them
The 131 brands in chocolate on Brandtree belong to 45 owners. The largest is Mars, with 9; Nestlé has 3.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Bounty | Mars | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Cadbury | Mondelēz | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Danusia | Wawel | 🇵🇱 Poland |
| Elizabeth Shaw | Colian | 🇵🇱 Poland |
| Baby Ruth | Ferrero | 🇮🇹 Italy |
| Almond Joy | Hershey | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Caffarel | Lindt & Sprüngli | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
| Eitt Sett | Nói Síríus | 🇮🇸 Iceland |
About the owner: Nestlé
Nestlé is a publicly listed company headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, founded in 1866. Brandtree records 32 brands under its control, and it is listed as SIX: NESN.
Nestlé is a Swiss food and drink company formed in 1905 by the merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company with Henri Nestlé's infant food business, and traces its origins to 1866. It is the largest food company in the world by revenue and is organised around coffee, pet care, nutrition, dairy, confectionery and water.
🇬🇧 KitKat and other British brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 552 brands that began in the United Kingdom. 291 of them (53%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, KitKat among them.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of KitKat?
The parent company of KitKat is Nestlé, a publicly listed company headquartered in Switzerland.
Is KitKat owned by Hershey?
No. KitKat is owned by Nestlé, not Hershey.
Is KitKat British or Swiss?
KitKat originated in the United Kingdom in 1935, but it is owned today by Nestlé, which is headquartered in Switzerland. So KitKat is a British-origin brand under Swiss ownership.
Since when has Nestlé owned KitKat?
Nestlé has owned KitKat since 1988.
Is KitKat still owned by Nestlé?
Yes. As of 26 September 2026, KitKat is still owned by Nestlé. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (3) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Nestlé S.A. Annual Report 2025 — Nestlé S.A., Annual report, published 19 February 2026; retrieved 16 September 2026.
- [2] Nestlé S.A. — Nestlé company history — Nestlé S.A., Official document; retrieved 26 September 2026.
- [3] USPTO: KIT KAT, serial 73044306 — United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark registry; retrieved 23 October 2026.
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