Toblerone barred from using iconic Swiss Matterhorn mountain on its logo

Mondelez International is changing the packaging design to depict a more generic mountain rather than the famous Matterhorn. PHOTO: UNSPLASH

BERN, Switzerland - The image of the Matterhorn mountain peak will soon disappear from the packaging of Toblerone chocolate bars because the brand’s US owner is moving some production outside of Switzerland.

Swiss newspaper Aargauer Zeitung reported that Mondelez International, which produces the triangular treat, is changing the design of the mountain depicted on the cardboard wrapper to not violate the Swissness Act.

Mondelez disclosed in 2022 that it planned to move some Toblerone production to the Slovakian capital of Bratislava. The company is changing the packaging design to depict a more generic mountain rather than the famous Matterhorn, the newspaper reported.

“The packaging redesign introduces a modernised and streamlined mountain logo that aligns with the geometric and triangular aesthetic,” a Mondelez spokesman told Aargauer Zeitung. Toblerone packaging will now read “established in Switzerland”, rather than “of Switzerland”.

Under Switzerland’s Swissness Act, passed in 2017, national symbols and Swiss crosses are not permitted on the packaging of products that do not meet Swissness criteria.

The Act stipulates that food items using Swiss national symbols or claiming to be “Swiss made” must have at least 80 per cent of the product’s raw materials come from Switzerland and 100 per cent for milk and dairy products.

Essential work to produce a Swiss-made product must also take place in Switzerland. Exceptions are made for raw materials not found in Switzerland, such as cocoa. BLOOMBERG

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