Image of Matterhorn mountain peak to be removed from Toblerone packaging after some chocolate bar production moved outside Swisswhich means that it violates marketing restrictions related to the use of Swiss iconography.
The 4,478-metre-tall (14,690ft) mountain, whose nearly symmetrical pyramidal peak mirrors the shape of the almond-honey chocolate bar, will be replaced by a more generic alpine peak, the US owner of the mountain said. confectionery brand, Mondelez. .
“The packaging redesign introduces a modernized and streamlined mountain logo that aligns with the geometric and triangular aesthetic,” a Mondelez spokesperson told Aargauer Zeitung. Toblerone’s packaging will now read “established in Switzerland”, rather than “from Switzerland”.
“Swissness” legislation introduced in 2017 restricts the use of the white cross of the national flag on a red background – along with other indicators of Swiss provenance – in foodstuffs, industrial products and services.
For food to present itself as “made in Switzerland”, 80% of the raw materials must come from the country and the majority of the processing takes place there. For milk and milk-based products, the required quota is 100%, with exceptions for ingredients that cannot come from Switzerland, such as cocoa.
Studies have shown that certain products labeled “made in Switzerland” are sold at a price that is 20% higher than comparable products from other origins, with the selling price increasing by up to 50% for luxury items.
Since 1908, Toblerone has been produced in the Swiss capital, Bern, whose heraldic animal sea urchin is hidden inside the image of the Matterhorn on the packaging. The name of the treat is a portmanteau of the bar’s inventor’s last name, Theodor Tobler, and Nougata toasted almond nougat confection typical of southwestern Christmas traditions Europe.
In 2016, Toblerone made headlines when it increased the gaps between the triangular pieces of chocolate on bars sold in the UK, supposedly to be able to sell the snack at the same price but at a reduced weight of 170g to 150g. A year later, Mondelez also reduced the weight of Toblerone bars sold in Germany, with the number of triangular peaks reduced from 15 to 11.
Such “controversies” guaranteed Toblerone a slew of free marketing, with sales reportedly rising despite supposed customer outrage. The bar returned to its original form in 2018.
Mondelez, owner of Toblerone since 2012, announced last year that from the end of 2023 it would move some production to its factory in Slovakia, where it also produces the Milka brand of chocolate originally made in Swiss.