Toblerone drops iconic Matterhorn mountain in packaging

Toblerone’s iconic packaging will soon no longer have the image of the Matterhorn mountain peak. This comes as the brand's parent company Mondelez is moving some of the bars' production out of Switzerland to Slovakia starting from July. The move will see Mondelez International redesigning the package in order not to violate the Swissness Act, reported by Swiss newspaper Aargauer Zeitung.

Quoted on Bloomberg, Mondelez said it is going to depict a generic mountain instead of the famous mountain. The redesign will include a modernised and streamlined mountain logo that will line up with the "geometric and triangular aesthetic". Furthermore, “established in Switzerland" will be added instead of “of Switzerland" onto the packaging. 

In a statement to the BBC, Mondelez also shared that its new packaging for the Toblerone brand would be “distinctive” in terms of typeface and logo that “would draw further inspiration from the Toblerone archives and the inclusion of its founder, Tobler's, signature”.

Don't miss: Mondelēz hands part of its global content production remit to WPP and Publicis Groupe

Under the new Swissness act, which was passed in 2017, brands that do not meet the criteria are not allowed to have national symbols and Swiss crosses on the packaging of their products.  The act specifies that brands using Swiss national symbols or are including "Swiss made" on their products must have at least 80% of the raw materials come from Switzerland. For milk and dairy products, 100% of the milk must be taken into account.

Additionally, the processing stage which confers on the product its essential characteristics, such as the processing of milk into cheese, must be carried out in Switzerland. There are some exceptions, notably for natural products which cannot be produced in Switzerland because of natural conditions, such as cacao, or which are not available in sufficient quantity.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out for more information. 

Toblerone first went on sale in 1908 in Bern, the capital city of Switzerland. In 2016, the brand also courted some controversy for changing the shape of its bars as many likened it to bike racks. This saw the brand revert back to its original look just two years after. 

Related articles: 

Mondelēz International head of marketing for MY and SG moves on to new role
Mondelēz Indonesia hands Vikram Chandratrey added marketing remit
Mondelēz names SEA president
Mondelez Biskuat spotlights unknown football coach who has trained thousands
Mondelez hands APAC duties to Wavemaker, adds 6 new SEA markets