News
Toblerone banned from featuring mountain logo on packaging
By Joanna Sarah-Freedman
06 Mar 2023
2m
Toblerone has been forced to change its packaging so that it no longer includes an image of Matterhorn mountain.
The chunky chocolate brand, owned by Mondelez International, is to undergo a big change to its logo because it has moved its production out of Switzerland and is now being made primarily in Slovakia.
Toblerone’s packaging is going to change (Credit: Alamy)
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Under legislation known as the Swiss Act, brands aren’t allowed to use national symbols to promote milk-based food items that aren’t exclusively made in Switzerland.
As a result, the chocolate bar will feature a new, more generic mountain range instead of the 4,478-metre-high (14,690ft) Matterhorn, which will sit as part of a wider design shake-up.
In a statement, Mondelez said the chocolate bar was being made outside of the country in order to “respond to increased demand worldwide and to grow our Toblerone brand for the future”.
They added Toblerone’s new packaging would feature a “distinctive new Toblerone typeface and logo that draw further inspiration from the Toblerone archives and the inclusion of our founder, Tobler’s, signature”.
What is the Swissness legislation?
Toblerone is no longer allowed to feature the Matterhorn mountain (Credit: Alamy)
The “Swissness” legislation, which came into force in 2017, states that brands can’t use Swiss symbols or claim to be Swiss if at least 80 percent of its raw materials hail from Switzerland.
Unfortunately for Toblerone, milk and dairy products have even stricter regulations. They need to be made from 100 percent Swiss materials to feature the country’s iconography or claim any relation to it (with the exception of ingredients like cocoa, that you can’t source in Switzerland itself).
It comes after studies have shown brands featuring ‘made in Switzerland’ on their packaging can sell for a 20 percent higher price than similar products from elsewhere. So, you can understand why the Swiss wanna protect that claim…
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Toblerone’s big change
Toblerone has been produced in the Swiss city of Berne since as far back as 1908, so the change is a big shake-up for Mondelez.
In fact, Berne is also the reason a bear has also been hidden on the packaging. It’s the countries symbolic animal and can be seen inside the mountain range depiction.
Toblerone’s imagery goes against the Swiss act (Credit: Alamy)
Whilst the change might feel like a big one, it’s not uncommon. The brand also moved Milka chocolate over to Slovakia after previously making it in Switzerland, and that’s still as tasty as it ever was.
This isn’t the first time Toblerone has come under controversy for making a change. Back in 2016, the brand widened the spacing between its chocolate ‘mountain peaks’ and people were not happy.
The brand said it came as a result of prices of some of the ingredients rising
However, the brand decided to backtrack and revert to its original design two years later.
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