Consumers react to Toblerone decision removing famous Matterhorn mountain logo
Consumers have taken to social media to note their concerns in response to news that Toblerone is set to lose its distinctive Matterhorn mountain logo, as it shifts some production to Slovakia, writes Neill Barston.
The brand, which has more than 100 years of history, is owned by parent company Mondelēz International, which confirmed that as of the end of this year, some of its manufacturing will move from its Swiss home in Bern, to Bratislava.
Notably, the company’s decision to remove the iconic logo, which has been in place over 50 years, is being done in response to government laws introduced in 2017 that state products must be at least 80% from origin in order to have local branding.
It has been reported that the Matterhorn logo, which contains a secret bear motif, will be replaced with a generic mountain range image.
According to US-based Mondelēz, which acquired the brand in 1990, the mountain logo’s adjustment, will form part of a wider packaging revamp for the distinctive honeycomb chocolate that was patented by Theodor Tobler in 1909. It is understood that the Bern site in Switzerland will still be retained for at least part of the production, with the move having been reported to Swiss newspaper Aargauer Zeitung.
Confectionery Production has previously visited the Toblerone factory in Switzerland, where its teams revealed the considerable local pride that the distinctive bars had always been made entirely within the country.
Posting in response to the news, Twitter user Lukas Benzl said: “Bye bye Matterhorn. Iconic Swiss chocolate brand Toblerone is forced to change its logo for the first time in over 50 years to fall in line with new Swiss government rules.”
Furthermore, fellow Twitter user James Hall believed that other mountain ranges should now be considered. He said: “Shame to throw away all that triangular packaging when you can move to Uganda! Switzerland say Toblerone must stop using Swiss mountain image around which it built its chocolates because they’re no longer made there. Might I humbly suggest Mt. Muhabura on the Rwanda-Uganda border?” Another social media observer, “John,” wrote on Twitter: “Don’t worry, I got my Toblerone before the label changes.”
In addition, Dutch-based impact confectionery brand also took to social media, imploring the company as part of its rebrand to adopt its ‘Open chain’ system designed to pay farmers more and help deliver a living wage for agricultural workers.
Taking to Twitter, the company said: ”While you’re changing up your logo, why not add the Tony’s Open Chain button? All you’ve gotta do is pay a higher price for cocoa and adopt our way-of-working. Become a Mission Ally and we can move mountains together.”
The logo removal follows previous controversy for the brand in 2016, when it widened the gaps between peaks in the chocolate, prompting a notable backlash from shoppers – resulting in its reinstatement a short while later.