Matterhorn no more: Toblerone to change design under ‘Swissness’ rules

The image of the Matterhorn mountain peak will be removed from Toblerone packaging after some of the chocolate bar’s production is moved outside Switzerland, meaning it falls foul of marketing restrictions relating to the use of Swiss iconography.

The 4,478-metre-high (14,690ft) mountain, whose nearly symmetrical pyramidal peak mirrors the shape of the almond-and-honey-laced chocolate bar, will be replaced with a more generic Alpine summit, said the confectionery brand’s US owner, Mondelez.

“The packaging redesign introduces a modernised and streamlined mountain logo that aligns with the geometric and triangular aesthetic,” a Mondelez spokesperson told Aargauer Zeitung. Toblerone packaging will now read “established in Switzerland”, rather than “of Switzerland”.

“Swissness” legislation introduced in 2017 restricts the use of the national flag’s white cross on a red background – as well as other indicators of Swiss provenance – in foodstuffs, industrial products and services.

For foodstuffs to market themselves as “made in Switzerland”, 80% of the raw ingredients must be sourced from the country and the majority of processing take place there. For milk and milk-based products, the required quota is 100%, with exceptions for ingredients that cannot be sourced from Switzerland, such as cocoa.

Studies have shown that certain products branded as “made in Switzerland” are sold at a price 20% higher than comparable goods from other origins, with the sale price rising by up to 50% for luxury items.

Since 1908, Toblerone has been produced in the Swiss capital, Berne, whose ursine heraldic animal is hidden inside the Matterhorn’s image on the packaging. The treat’s name is a portmanteau of the surname of the bar’s inventor, Theodor Tobler, and torrone, a toasted-almond nougat confection typical of Christmas traditions in south-western Europe.

In 2016, Toblerone grabbed headlines when it increased the gaps between the triangular chocolate chunks on bars sold in the UK, supposedly to be able to sell the snack at the same price but at a weight reduced from 170g to 150g. A year later, Mondelez also reduced the weight of Toblerone bars sold in Germany, with the number of triangular peaks down to 11 from 15.

Such “controversies” guaranteed Toblerone a run of free marketing, with sales reportedly rising in spite of supposed outrage among customers. The bar was reverted to its original shape in 2018.

Mondelez, which has owned Toblerone since 2012, announced last year that from the end of 2023 it would move some of the production to its plant in Slovakia, where it also produces the Milka chocolate brand originally made in Switzerland.