Toblerone forced to remove Matterhorn after leaving Switzerland
THE Matterhorn mountain’s peak that appears on Toblerone packaging is to be removed.
Mondelez International, the manafacturer of Toblerone, is moving part of the chocolate production from its home country of Switzerland to Slovakia.
The change is in line with Swiss legislation that protects items claiming to be from the country under the Swissness Act. Toblerone packaging will now read “established in Switzerland”, rather than “of Switzerland”, according to Aargauer Zeitung newspaper.
The act decrees Swiss national symbols or products claiming to be “Swiss made” must contain at least 80 per cent of the product’s raw materials that have come from Switzerland. For milk and dairy products, 100 per cent of the raw materials must come from Switzerland.
However, exceptions are made for raw materials and ingredients that cannot be directly sourced from Switzerland – including cocoa.
The image of the mountain will be swapped for a more standardised summit, according to Mondelez. A spokesman said: “The packaging redesign introduces a modernised and streamlined mountain logo that aligns with the geometric and triangular aesthetic.”
The shape of Toblerone resembles the pyramid shape of the Swiss summit.
Hidden within the icon is an image of a bear, representing the national animal of Bern, the Swiss capital.
The name is said to be a mix of the surname of the bar’s inventor, Theodor Tobler, with torrone – the almond nougat contained in the chocolate.
The chocolate bar has been produced in Berne since 1908.