Chocolate brand Toblerone is going to remove the iconic top of the Matterhorn from the packaging. The chocolate maker has to do this because of the strict rules that Switzerland attaches to the use of national symbols. The Matterhorn, according to Toblerone’s parent company Mondelez, will be replaced by “a generic mountain peak”.
Strict rules about “Swissness” have been in force in Switzerland since 2017. According to those rules, national symbols may no longer be used for dairy products that are not entirely made in Switzerland. For other food products, 80 percent must come from Switzerland.
As of July, the American Mondelez will move part of the production of the famous triangular chocolate bars to Bratislava, in Slovakia. Due to this move, Toblerone no longer meets the requirements to use the Matterhorn. The caption “of Switzerland” also disappears from the packaging.
1970
Mondelez says in a statement to the BBC that the move of production abroad is necessary to meet the growing demand for the bars. It would also be necessary to continue to grow the Toblerone brand.
Toblerone bars were first sold in 1908 in the Swiss capital of Bern. The Matterhorn has been on the packaging since 1970. Before the Alpine peak was on the cardboard, there was an eagle and later a bear on the packaging.
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