British regenerative wheat gets KitKat supply chain trial

British wheat grown under regenerative farming standards is set to be used in KitKat wafers as Nestlé expands a trial with Wildfarmed.

The food manufacturer is working with the regenerative food and farming brand to test wheat grown by British farmers in one of the UK’s best-known chocolate bars.

Trials using a proportion of the wheat in KitKat wafers began last year at Nestlé’s factory in York, where around 1.5 billion bars are made each year.

Nestlé said the change would not affect the taste or snap of the bar.

The wheat comes from Wildfarmed’s network of British farmers, who follow standards based on regenerative farming principles.

These include limiting soil disturbance, maintaining year-round soil cover, promoting plant diversity and keeping living roots in the soil.

Wildfarmed says the approach is designed to improve soil health, support biodiversity, minimise water pollution and reduce carbon.

For growers, the partnership shows how regenerative farming is moving from niche markets into mainstream food manufacturing.

Wildfarmed was founded by Andy Cato, George Lamb and Edd Lees to build a community of farmers focused on restoring soil health and improving the environmental impact of food production.

Dr Emma Keller, head of sustainability at Nestlé UK and Ireland, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with Wildfarmed.”

She said the collaboration was aimed at making KitKat more sustainable while supporting British wheat farmers to adopt regenerative practices.

“This collaboration is all about making the KitKat everyone has known and loved for the last 90 years in an even more sustainable way,” she said.

Edd Lees, Wildfarmed chief executive and co-founder, said: “Wildfarmed exists to make resilient, nature-rich farming mainstream.”

He said the current food system had undervalued nature and placed pressure on farmers to maximise output.

“For too long, nature has effectively been priced at zero in our food system,” Mr Lees said. “Farmers have been pushed to maximise yield, often at the expense of soil, biodiversity and resilience.”

Mr Lees said the scale of KitKat production meant the trial could help bring regenerative farming to a wider audience.

“Partnering with Nestlé to use regenerative British wheat is a big step forward in our mission to make regenerative farming the default, not the exception, and prove that nature restoration can sit at the heart of iconic brands,” he said.

Nestlé and Wildfarmed said they would continue working together to support farmers using nature-friendly practices while maintaining KitKat’s product quality.

The partnership forms part of Nestlé’s wider efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its supply chains.