MULTI-MILLION pound new versions of KitKat have been quietly abandoned by Nestl Rowntree, the Evening Press can reveal.

The York confectioner made its biggest investment in machinery in Britain when it spent £10 million on high-tech patented equipment to launch KitKat Kubes in 2003.

Having produced 320 million of the bite-sized chocolates to meet anticipated demand, it spent another £10 million promoting them on TV and in shops, using a new version of the traditional Have A Break catchphrase - Have A Lot Of Little Breaks.

Nestl also pledged to fork out a further £28 million on marketing Kubes over the following five years.

Millions more were spent on developing KitKat Low Carb, which was launched last year, targeting weight-conscious people on the high-protein, low-carbohydrate Atkins Diet.

Scientists at Nestl's York labs were said to have spent five years perfecting the low-carb taste and overcoming tough challenges, with marketing director Sam Hunter saying there had been very positive feedback from retailers and significant export interest.

The two product launches were also seen by many as the company making a major commitment to the future of the York factory.

But inquiries have now revealed that both versions have disappeared without fanfare from shop shelves.

A spokeswoman said today that KitKat Kubes, which Nestl hoped in 2003 would compete with rival products such as Maltesers, were withdrawn back in April.

"This decision was taken following a strategic review of the brand," she said, denying claims by a source that the Kubes had been breaking up on their way to the shops.

She was unable to say whether special equipment, bought by Nestl to insert 10,000 wafers per minute into moulds, could now be made use of elsewhere in the factory.

She revealed that KitKat Low Carb, which cost 79p for a two-fingered bar compared to 20p for a normal version, had been withdrawn in the summer, in response to the decline in popularity of the Atkins diet.

She said Nestl would now be concentrating its efforts on selling more of its traditional core brands, following the arrival of new managing director Paul Grimwood.

Meanwhile, Nestl UK also revealed today that it had disposed of its in-house design division, Group Creative Services, in an arrangement with US-based packaging design specialists Anthem Worldwide.

It said the 50-plus employees would now work for bosses in Arnhem, in Holland, but remain based at Nestl's York offices.

The move would allow Nestl to focus on its core business - the "manufacturing, marketing and selling of its products".

It is not the first time Nestl Rowntree has launched new products in a blaze of glory, only to later withdraw them. In 2000, the revolutionary snack Pretzel Flipz - salted pretzels covered in milk chocolate or white fudge - was scrapped because of poor sales.

Updated: 08:56 Monday, November 28, 2005