KitKat’s partnership with Formula 1 set to accelerate airport engagement strategy
Fred Porchet, NITR General Manager: “With its global appeal and busy international schedule, Formula 1 offers KitKat the perfect platform from which to remind everyone to make time for a break"
The new landmark global partnership between KitKat and Formula 1 (F1) – making KitKat the Official Chocolate Bar of Formula 1 – will play a key role in Nestlé International Travel Retail’s (NITR) consumer engagement strategy as of the end of 2025.
Announced in November 2024, this three-year collaboration marks Nestlé’s largest global brand partnership to date, signaling its ambition to reach a wider audience and achieve a higher rate of global growth.
With a fanbase of more than 820 million fans worldwide, Formula 1 continues to grow in popularity particularly with a younger and more diverse audience and benefits from an immersive digital ecosystem.
Through this partnership, KitKat wants to bring its iconic ‘Have a Break, Have a KitKat’ message to more people and enable them to take a moment to pause. The collaboration will officially launch during the 2025 season, marking the 90th anniversary of KitKat and the 75th anniversary of Formula 1. It will then expand across the world throughout 2026.
For NITR, it provides an exceptional opportunity to capitalize and build on the many consumer activations and promotional prizes (such as tickets and merchandise) starting with Mexico this year.
Fred Porchet, NITR General Manager, said, “With its global appeal and busy international schedule, Formula 1 offers KitKat the perfect platform from which to remind everyone to make time for a break. F1’s global prominence also makes it perfect for the travel environment as a platform to bring together the fun of KitKat with the thrill of motorsport and create memorable experiences for fans wherever they may be.
“Indeed, this makes the potential for the partnership in global travel retail sizable, as we can leverage the full F1calendar and worldwide events through airports globally.”
NITR is now working closely with prospective creative agencies to develop meaningful campaigns that will combine the excitement and thrill of F1 motorsport with the fun, cheerful and light-hearted KitKat brand whilst, at the same time, utilizing the GTR added advantages of product exclusivity and sense of place.
The partnership – and opportunities it presents for global travel retail – is also perfect as NITR seeks to engage better with Gen Z consumers. “We know how important it is to focus on personalization, sense of place and experience if we are to attract the attention of Gen Z consumers,” Porchet added. “The Formula 1 KitKat partnership is perfect for this, bringing together two powerful brands that lend themselves to gamification, retailtainment and engagement. Formula 1 is a global phenomenon with a rapidly growing, diverse fanbase, especially among the younger generation and so is the perfect mechanism to introduce into GTR.”
