While many international companies have found success in Japan, including AFLAC, Michelin, Jack Daniels and Harley-Davidson, few have done as well as Nestle. One of the first foreign companies to invest here — Nestle Japan opened in 1913, and will celebrate their 100 year anniversary next year — the company has flourished, bringing its many products to Japanese consumers. We love the company because of the amazing Japanese Kit Kat flavors they make, from Sakura Green Tea to Strawberry Tart to limited flavors from various regions of Japan like Shizuoka Wasabi and Yokohama Strawberry Cheesecake. The company has gone out of their way to help Japan get back on her feet since last year’s disaster, including creating limited-edition products to promote the rebuilding of the Sanriku Railway in Iwate Prefecture, badly damaged in the tsunamis, and making the new Kit Kat World Variety sampler bag which lets you try versions of chocolate cookie goodness from Japan, Australia and the U.K., with 20 yen donated to the recovery of the Tohoku area. In case you’re wondering why Japanese Kit Kat is so different from what’s available in the U.S., it’s because American Kit Kat is made under license by Hershey, not Nestle, and is a totally separate product.
Nestle’s products have a long history in Japan.
