YORK chocolate brand KitKat has driven Nestlé’s strong performance in the first half of 2012, the business has said in its half-year results.

KitKat sales were up 3.8 per cent, it said, while Rolo, Yorkie and Milky Bar also helped drive growth in Nestlé Confectionery of 6.8 per cent.

The most innovative activity and the key factor in KitKat’s growth was the KitKat Chunky Flavour Nation promotion, which saw more than 500,000 people take part and peanut butter being voted the winning flavour.

Paul Grimwood, chairman and chief executive of Nestlé UK & Ireland, said: “Our performance in the first half of the year has remained strong despite the tough market.

“UK shoppers are looking for value for money and innovation and we are working hard to provide this for them.

“The UK market is very important for Nestlé and we are continuing to invest in our brands, our factories and our people.”

Nestlé is also hoping to retain its title of Large Business Of The Year at The Press Business Awards 2012, as well as trying again to be recognised as Think Green Business Of The Year.

The company’s confectionery division, which employs 1,800 people in York and is celebrating the 150th anniversary of Rowntree’s this year, said it continued to outperform the market in 2011 for the fourth year, growing faster than any of its major competitors.

It has also removed all plastic packaging from its Easter eggs and removed all artificial colours, flavours and preservatives from its entire confectionery range, completing a project started in 2005 which has seen more than 80 ingredients being replaced with alternatives such as concentrates of fruit, vegetables and edible plants.

David Rennie, managing director of Nestlé Confectionery UK, said: “This was a significant milestone. Nestlé is proud to be the only major confectionery company in the UK to announce it is 100 per cent free of artificial preservatives, flavours or colours across the entire portfolio.

“To achieve this, Nestlé Confectionery and our suppliers have worked very hard ensuring we don’t compromise and we maintain the same quality and taste of all our brands.”