Cadbury is expecting the majority of its relaunched Wispa Gold bars to be sold out by Christmas - and if the launch is successful could make them a permanent line.

The confectioner announced yesterday that it was going to introduce the caramel-centered variant of Wispa to retailer shelves on 14 September but only on a limited-edition basis.

Cadbury expected "the majority of sales to sail through before 2010", said head of marketing for countlines, Julie Mercer, but added "there could well be opportunities" to make it a permanent line, although there were currently no plans for one.

"We want to protect the success of Wispa Blue, which is selling phenomenally well, and there are lots of plans in the pipeline for the entire Wispa brand around the launch of Gold," said Mercer.

The recipe of Wispa Gold remains unchanged from that of the original Wispa Gold, which was launched in 1995 and delisted in 2003. However, Mercer said Cadbury had updated the packaging with a "cleaner and more minimalist look" than the original to suit the current market and consumer tastes.

Marketing for Wispa Gold will include activity targeting independent stores. The one individual outlet judged to have supported the Wispa brand the most will be selected for "Goldrush treatment". "This store will receive the first stock of Wispa Gold before anyone else as well as dancing girls and an all-round gold treatment," said Mercer. "It's a great publicity opportunity."

Since its permanent return last October, Wispa has achieved £35m in sales [Nielsen], which Cadbury claims is £16m above the value of the nearest rival over the same time period.

Meanwhile, Nestlé is launching KitKat two-finger Caramel - the first caramel-flavoured KitKat. Caramel was "consumers' most requested flavour", said Graham Walker, Nestlé trade communications manager, and would line up alongside Milk, Orange, Mint and Dark from August (rsp: £1.49 for a nine-pack).