Nestlé’s biggest confectionery brand is entering the burgeoning sharing bag category with the launch of Kit Kat Pop Choc.

The bags of bite-sized pieces of wafer coated in milk chocolate roll out next month and mark Kit Kat’s long-awaited entry into sharing bags the fastest-growing category in confectionery, up 20% to £298m [IRI 52w/e 1 January 2011].

The new bags (rsp: £1.89 for 180g) join a Nestlé sharing bag line-up that includes Aero, Milky Bar and Smarties.

Kit Kat Pop Choc will be backed by a £3m media campaign, including a new TV advert to run from 7 March until 11 April and ads in women’s magazines. It will form part of a larger £7m investment behind the Kit Kat brand in the first quarter of 2011 alone.

“This moves our mega brand into a whole new arena,” said a spokesman. “Both the category and Kit Kat are performing extremely well.”