ALBAWABA — World-famous Swiss chocolate brand Toblerone will gradually lose the Matterhorn mountain peak from its logo once its new plant in Slovakia opens, its owner since 2012 said on Monday.
The Matterhorn's silhouette first debuted on Toblerone packaging in the 1970s.
Since 2017, Switzerland has adopted the Swissness Act that required businesses and products to meet certain criteria in order to use Swiss symbols or call themselves Swiss-made in order to protect the credibility and value of the coveted Swiss label.
Certain products branded as “Made in Switzerland” are sold at a price 20 percent higher than comparable goods from other origins, with the sale price rising by up to 50 percent for luxury items, the Swiss government, replying on studies, said at the time.
When it comes to food products specifically, at least 80 percent of raw materials must come from Switzerland, and 100 percent for milk and dairy, whose essential processing must also be done inside the country, with few exceptions, such as cocoa that cannot be sourced from Switzerland.
Toblerone, which was created in the Swiss city of Bern in 1908 by Theodor Tobler, will see its triangle-shaped bar, which mirrors the Alpine peak, undergo rebranding that will include the founder's signature, its Chicago-based maker Mondelēz International said.
"We have to adapt our packaging to the Swissness legislation," a Mondelēz spokeswoman told Agence France-Presse.
"The packaging redesign introduces a modernized and streamlined mountain logo that aligns with the geometric and triangular aesthetic," she added.
Toblerone produces seven billion chocolate bars a year, with 97 percent exported to 120 countries.
The Swiss chocolate has until now been exclusively produced in Bern but to meet higher demand, and cut costs, part of its production will shift to the company’s new plant in Bratislava in the third quarter of 2023.
"More and more people will see the brand's exciting new visual identity and packaging design, as it starts to be rolled out across markets from Q3 2023," the spokeswoman said.
Images of the rebranding have not been officially released.
