Gold-wrapped Kit Kat bar to go on sale in Japan

TOKYO - Food group Nestle is seeking to lure Japanese holiday shoppers with a taste for fine snacking with a gold-wrapped Kit Kat chocolate bar.

The single finger golden Kit Kat is wrapped with an extreme thin layer of gold, handcrafted by an artisan in Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan.

Only a limited supply of 500 of these candy bars will go on sale from Dec 29 with a price tag of 2016-yen (US$16), Nestle said.

"When you presents a Kit Kat wrapped with gold, you're actually making the very best wish for the person through the year," Nestle Japan's executive manager Alex Villela said.

The golden Kit Kat is the latest of the global chocolate brand's exotic line-up in the country. Kit Kat have delighted Japan customers since its debut in the country in 1973 with about 30 different flavours including sweet potato, green tea, soy sauce and even wasabi.

Japan's "omiyage" culture of bringing regional gifts from trips back to family and friends also encouraged Nestle to offer more flavours in the country.

One of the customers at the Kit Kat "Choclatory" store in Tokyo said she would give the golden bar to her test-taking brother. "I'm going to send it as a well-wish present to my younger brother who is preparing for the college entrance exam," 25-year-old Saki Izumi said.

Nestle said that the gold leaf is edible although harder to make than the usual kind.