The iconic Matterhorn mountain peak on Toblerone’s packaging lives in our mind’s eye like an emotion. But like the melt-in-the-mouth classic Toblerone bar, the Matterhorn too is melting away like a thing of the past. For over a century, the brand has gained legendary status, leaning on the firm shoulders of Switzerland’s majestic Matterhorn logo — a symbol that reflects the pyramidal structure of the chocolate itself and one that has defined the chocolate’s worldwide popularity.
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Mondelez, owner of the brand has announced that it is moving part of its production from Switzerland to Slovakia to reduce costs. This means, in keeping with a 2017 Swiss legislation, the Matterhorn logo has to be done away with. Unless manufactured in Switzerland, the legislation disallows the use of symbols indicating Swiss provenance in food, industrial products and services
Mondelez’s international spokesperson has confirmed, “Toblerone is one of the world’s best-known chocolate brands which means an increasing demand for personalised and diverse products. To meet this increased demand and continue to differentiate ourselves from the competition, we are making these changes and investing in innovation across our Toblerone product portfolio, marketing and production.”
However, Mondelez has assured that, “The redesign of the packaging introduces a modernised and streamlined mountain logo that is consistent with the geometric and triangular aesthetic. The famous hidden bear (inscribed on the Matterhorn’s image on the packaging) is retained.”
While the taste and shape of the chocolate shall remain the same, other changes to the packaging will be in alignment with Toblerone’s signature font, logo and will be inspired by the Toblerone archives which will include the signature of Toblerone’s founder Theodor Tobler.