The iconic image of Switzerland’s most famous mountain is to be cut from the packaging of the much-loved Toblerone chocolate bar, when the company moves some of its production to Slovakia later this year.
‘Swissness’ legislation introduced in 2017 means there are strict rules about how companies present products that aren’t made exclusively within the country, including imagery used on packaging. Moving part of its operation outside of Switzerland means that Toblerone can no longer angle its pleasingly triangular chocolate as Swiss, also partly due to the chocolate being milk-based, as these products need to be made entirely within the country to use distinctive Swiss imagery.
It ends a 53-year-long spell of the Matterhorn gracing the packaging of a product that was first sold in Bern back in 1908. According to Mondelēz, Toblerone’s US-based owner, the replacement image will be a more generic Alpine scene. It seems that the Matterhorn’s time in the Toblerone spotlight has peaked.