A NEW giant block version of York's top choc KitKat has been launched by Nestlé - and is already proving a hit with customers.

The confectionery giant says KitKat Snap & Share, made at its factory in Haxby Road and costing £2, is intended to be snapped into half pieces and shared by consumers to tap into a growing trend for people to share their confectionery.

A spokeswoman said: "KitKat products are typically eaten as a snack during the day, whilst total chocolate blocks consumption is skewed towards the evening."

She said the 170g blocks, which are available in two flavour variants, Milk Chocolate and Cookies & Cream, opened up more opportunities for the brand to be consumed during the evening.

She also revealed that chocolate blocks were known to have a younger audience compared to chocolate in general and the new KitKats were therefore expected to introduce the brand to an even wider audience.

"With the support of a media campaign to generate awareness of the launch, shoppers will be looking for the new bars in store," she said.

“KitKat Snap and Share is still a very new product. However, early feedback from consumers suggests it is very popular.”

Meanwhile, another limited edition of KitKat was also recently launched, which should appeal to coffee lovers.

The four-finger Mocha bar, selling for 58 pence, is covered in coffee-flavoured milk chocolate, and is said by Nestlé to fit with the consumer trend towards café culture and the growth in popularity of coffee-shop coffees.

The spokeswoman said the Mocha launch had coincided with the next phase of a heavyweight £10 million media campaign for KitKat in 2015, with the Celebrate the Breaks campaign back on TV from this month.

She said KitKats had been loved by the UK public since 1935 and were now worth a huge £184 million, and they had the highest level of awareness and loyalty amongst all confectionery brands.