The well-known Swiss brand of chocolates, Toblerone, which began to be marketed in 1909 in Zürich, Switzerland, will be forced by law to stop using Mount Matterhon or also known as Mount Cervino as a logo on its packaging and as an identifying image of the chocolate. This will be so due to its recent decision to move its production to Slovakia.
The firm created 115 years ago by the Swiss chocolatier Theodor Tobler has been affected by regulations that prevent certain national icons such as the national flag or the peak of Mount Matterhorn from being displayed on commercial products if they are not manufactured in the country.
The American multinational Mondelez has owned Toblerone since 2012. The slogan “Made in Switzerland” that accompanied the image on the packaging, will be replaced by the phrase “Established in Switzerland”, also appears in the legal imperative of the transfer.
Swiss product laws
For a product to be shown as made in the country (something that is usually associated with higher prices) it must have 80% of its raw materials coming from the territory, a percentage that still increases, to 100%, in the case of milk and its derivatives.
With its characteristic triangular shape (also very similar to the Matterhorn), this chocolate with almond and honey is a must in all tourist shops in Switzerland, including those near the iconic Alpine mountain, one of the most visited places in the country, with a height of 4,478 meters.
The transfer of Toblerone production to Slovakia, specifically to a plant in the capital Bratislava, was announced in June last year, after more than a century of manufacturing in Bern. Toblerone combines the last name of the brand’s founder with the Italian word “torrone”, a honey and almond sweet with a texture similar to that of Spanish nougats.