NESTLE Rowntree boss Chris White has denied his company is in crisis.

He says reports claiming he said so took his comments out of context.

He has also defended the performance of Nestl's leading KitKat brand - but he criticised the company's sponsorship of last year's Pop Idol.

He said the TV talent show had not sold more products, as it had not given consumers another reason to buy.

"Sponsorship raises awareness, but people are already aware of our brands," he said. "We need to give consumers a reason to buy a product today."

A company spokesman said it was unlikely Nestl would be sponsoring the next series of Pop Idol.

Meanwhile, Nestl has revealed that it is considering launching a lemon cheesecake flavour version of KitKat in the UK.

The unusual flavour is already sold in Germany and Japan.

A company spokeswoman said it was standing by figures reported in the Evening Press last month that revealed that the confectionery favourite enjoyed record sales of £260 million last year.

Mr White was reported in Marketing magazine to have admitted that Nestl Rowntree was a "business in crisis," but the spokeswoman said the comment had been taken out of context.

She said it had referred to the marketing of products and not the business as a whole. "Nestl Rowntree is not in a crisis situation," she said, adding that one of Mr White's key tasks would be to revitalise the marketing of Nestl Rowntree's portfolio of brands.

Updated: 10:31 Thursday, February 19, 2004