Geneva. Swiss food giant Nestlé reported the theft of a huge shipment of its KitKat brand chocolate bars and warned that this could cause shortages in stores just before Easter.

KitKat confirmed in a statement sent to the AFP news agency on Saturday that “a truck transporting 413,793 units of its new range of chocolates was stolen during transport in Europe.”

The shipment, weighing about 12 tons, disappeared last week while traveling between production and distribution centers, he said.

“We always encourage people to take a break with KitKat,” said a spokesperson for the brand, referring to its slogan. “But it seems that the thieves took the message too literally and have ‘taken a break’ with more than 12 tons of our chocolate,” he added.

The brand warned that “the theft could lead to KitKat shortages” and that its consumers “may have difficulty finding their favorite chocolates before Easter.”

The stolen truck had left central Italy and was headed to Poland, with the mission of distributing the bars to countries along the way.

KitKat did not specify where the merchandise disappeared, but indicated that “the vehicle and its contents remain missing.”

“Investigations continue in close collaboration with local authorities and supply chain partners,” he added.

KitKat warned that stolen chocolate bars could enter unofficial sales channels in European markets. He also noted that stolen products can be tracked by scanning the unique lot codes found on each bar.

“If a match is found, the system will provide clear instructions on how to alert KitKat, which will then share the evidence appropriately,” he said.