KitKat is giving away a special version of its chocolate bar made especially for Ramadan, an effort to connect with a community whose celebrations are often overlooked by big brands.

The KitKat Iftar Bar is named for, and inspired by, the fast-breaking sundown meal that happens during the month of Ramadan. It is divided into 30 pieces, one for each day of Ramadan, and further subdivided into three segments to reflect the three Ashras of Ramadan: Rehmah (mercy), Maghfirah (forgiveness) and Nijat (safety).

The packaging design also features a tile pattern inspired by geometry often found in Islamic architecture, a calendar to keep track of how far along people are in their fast and a lunar die cut on the side of the box that is revealed as it slides open.

“KitKat has long been synonymous with the ‘break’, but one break that hasn’t been celebrated enough by brands is the break that happens every evening during the holy month of Ramadan – breaking your fast,” says Shereen Ladha, group strategy director at Rethink, which began working with KitKat in late 2022 on long-term brand strategy, with the Ramadan project being turned around in just over three months.

Ladha tells strategy that while there are almost two billion Muslims in the world, brands tend to ignore Ramadan, and that the brand wanted to start to play a part in the daily Iftar tradition.

“Chocolate is an important part of any celebration, and as a beloved and iconic brand, KitKat had the power to bring cultural awareness to an important holiday,” Ladha says.

KitKat worked closely with a diverse team made up of both its own team and Rethink staff, some of whom are Muslim. Then, to get the Iftar Bars into the hands of those from the Muslim community, KitKat partnered with different content creators Faizal Khamisa (@faizkham), Samia Patel (@mylittlealim) and Rethinkers Mustaali Raj (@mraj) and Ladha herself (@shereenladha, below) to host giveaways to their communities on Instagram.

The bars are being made available through limited giveaways, and the brand is partnering with Muslim content creators to trial the Iftar Bar. There is no paid media behind the LTO, as community involvement was an integral part of creating and launching the product. Ladha says content from influencers has already spurred conversation globally about Ramadan and Iftar traditions, and she says that the agency and the brand hope to learn from the experience and continue to celebrate meaningfully with Muslim communities.