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BusinessSwitzerland

New look: Toblerone to remove Matterhorn from packaging

March 6, 2023

To comply with the "Swissness" law, Toblerone has to remove the famous Matterhorn peak from some of its packaging as production moves to Slovakia. The US-owned company will replace the logo with geometric mountains.

https://p.dw.com/p/4OKRY
Toblerone without the Matterhorn on the package
With some production shifting out of Switzerland to Slovakia, some Toblerone packaging will be stripped of the famous Swiss Matterhorn mountain and the country's flagImage: Francois Glories/MAXPPP/dpa/picture alliance

The makers of Toblerone are removing images of Switzerland's Matterhorn and the Swiss flag from its packaging of the 35- and 50-gram (1.2-1.75-ounce) bars as they move some production to Slovakia.

Mondelez International of Deerfield, Illinois, which owns the Swiss-born brand, says it is in the process of adapting the packaging of Toblerone products to conform with Swiss rulesabout how products qualify for the "Swissness" signature.

Why is the Matterhorn disappearing?

With Toblerone opening a new plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, in the third quarter of 2023, the company must adapt the packaging to the Swissness legislation.

Toblerone announced a new plant in Slovakia in June 2022 "to meet increased global demand," according to the brand's owner. The company cited lower wages in Slovakia compared with Switzerland when announcing the outsourcing of production of some Toblerone chocolates.

In 2017, Switzerland adopted a law on "Swissness" that aimed to protect the prestige of Swiss manufacturing.

As far as food is concerned, two criteria must be met: Four-fifths of raw materials in the product must come from Switzerland, and processing that gives a product its "essential characteristics" must be carried out in Switzerland.

What is the new design?

"The redesign of the packaging introduces a modernized and streamlined mountain logo that is consistent with the geometric and triangular aesthetic," Mondelez spokeswoman Livia Kolmitz said in an email.

"More and more people will see the brand's exciting new visual identity and packaging design," the spokeswoman said.

The name is a portmanteau of two words: the Tobler family name and "torrone," the Italian name for honey-almond nougat.

Toblerone produces about 7 billion chocolate bars annually, with 97% exported to 120 countries.

dmn/ar (AP,AFPE)