Toblerone

Toblerone is a Swiss chocolate brand[1] owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods). It was produced exclusively in Bern, Switzerland until 2022, when a smaller, limited part of the portfolio began production in Bratislava, Slovakia.[2][3]

Toblerone is known for its distinctive shape as a series of joined triangular prisms inspired by the Matterhorn mountain and lettering engraved in the chocolate. "Toblerone" is a portmanteau of "Tobler", the surname of its co-founder Theodor Tobler, and "torrone", the Italian word for nougat.[4] The company was independent from 1899 until 1970, then merged with Suchard, then with Jacobs as Jacobs Suchard, then acquired by Kraft Foods—which has been renamed to Mondelez International—in 2012.[5]

History

The Tobler chocolate factory was founded in 1899 by Emil Baumann (1880–1960) & Theodor Tobler (1876–1941) in Bern.[6] At the time, the Swiss chocolate industry was expanding dramatically as recently invented milk chocolate became widespread. In 1908, Emil Baumann, the cousin of Theodor Tobler, created the unique recipe consisting of milk chocolate including white nougat, almonds, and honey. Theodor Tobler came up with the distinctive triangular shape and packaging. The product's name is a combination of Tobler's name and the Italian word torrone (a type of nougat).[7][8][9]

The triangular shape of the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps/Italian Alps is commonly believed to have given Theodor Tobler his inspiration for the shape of Toblerone. However, according to Theodor's sons, the triangular shape originates from a pyramid shape that dancers at the Folies Bergère created as the finale of a show that Theodor saw.[10] Another source of inspiration could have been the similar triangular packaging of the Delta Peter brand.[11] Nevertheless, a silhouette of the Matterhorn appears on the modern Toblerone packaging, as seen in the photo above right. An outline of a bear, the symbol of Bern, is also depicted on the mountain on the packaging.

Theodor Tobler applied for a patent for the Toblerone manufacturing process in Bern in 1909.[10] The Toblerone brand was trademarked the same year, at the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in Bern.[12] Albert Einstein, who was working at the institute as a clerk, might have been involved in the patenting. Toblerone was thus the first patented milk chocolate bar.[13] It is probably also one of the oldest candy bars using milk chocolate, although not the first one; the Branche, another iconic product of the Swiss chocolate industry, had been launched a few years earlier.[14]

A Toblerone version made of dark chocolate was launched in 1969. A white version was launched in 1973.[15]

Some early advertisements for Tobler chocolate appeared in the international languages Esperanto[16] and Ido.[17]

The Tobler company was independent for many years. In 1970, it merged with Suchard, the makers of Milka, to become Interfood. After the Tobler & Suchard merger it was decided to create a new and single source for marketing & exporting the various products manufactured by both companies worldwide, Multifood. Max E. Baumann, the son of Emil Baumann, was made director of this new division. Tobler & Suchard companies merged with the Jacobs coffee company in 1982 to create Jacobs Tobler & Suchard. Kraft Foods Inc acquired the majority of Jacobs Suchard, including Toblerone, in 1990; in 2012, it was spun off (alongside several other brands) to Mondelēz.

Sizes and variants

Bar sizes range from ten centimetres to nearly one metre, all similarly proportioned. According to Schott's Food & Drink Miscellany the sizes and number of peaks for Toblerones are as follows:

For the yearly Toblerone Schoggifest, a special oversized bar is created to celebrate the bar's anniversary. The bar's weight represents the years of Toblerone, with the first bar in 2008 weighing 100 kg.[18]

Since the 1970s, other variants of Toblerone have been produced. These include:

• Plain chocolate: In a yellow triangular box (1969)
• Dark chocolate: In a black triangular box
• White chocolate: In a white triangular box (1973)
• Milk chocolate Mint Crisp: In a white/green triangular box (1985)
• Snowtop: Editions with white chocolate peaks, also in a white/silver triangular box
• Filled editions: Milk chocolate with a white chocolate centre (blue triangular box)
• OneByOne: Individually wrapped triangular chunks
• Toblerone Pralines: Released in 1997, a single peaked version in the distinctive beige packaging
• Fruit & Nut: In 2007 with a half purple triangular cardboard box
• Honeycomb crisp: With a half white box with honeycomb pieces pictured on it (2009)
• Crunchy Salted Almond: With honey and almond nougat and salted caramelised almonds
• Berner Bär: 500g milk chocolate bar, with a relief portrait of the Bernese Bear and the Coat of arms of Bern on its face. The only non-triangular Toblerone.[19]
• Toblerone Tobelle: Toblerone thins in a beige triangular box:
• Crispy Coconut: With honey and almond nougat and coconut
• Golden Caramel: Caramel with honey and almond nougat
• Tobler Truffles: Limited edition, with personalizable box (2022)

Manufacturing

In the past it was manufactured in other locations including Bedford in England, and Dundee in Scotland from the 1930s up to 1969.[25]

Producer Mondelez planned to start additional limited production from the end of 2023 in a Slovak factory[26] (known formerly as Figaro) in Bratislava. Swiss rules introduced in 2017 mandate that indicators of Swiss provenance such as packaging stating "Swiss" and showing images typical of Switzerland may not be used, so the bars will be labelled "created in Switzerland", and the image of the Swiss Matterhorn will be replaced by a "modernised and streamlined mountain logo that aligns with the geometric and triangular aesthetic".[27]

In April 2025, Mondelez International announced an investment of approximately 65 million Swiss francs (CHF) in its Toblerone manufacturing facility in Bern, Switzerland.[28] The place serves as Toblerone's global center, where the heritage brand was founded in 1908 and where approximately 90 percent of Toblerone products sold worldwide are manufactured today. As a visual symbol of its Swiss heritage, Toblerone packaging for chocolates manufactured in Bern will now showcase the Swiss flag. This emphasises the product's origin.[29]

Ingredients in a traditional Toblerone bar include sugar, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, honey (3%), milk fat, almonds (1.6%), emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), egg white, flavouring, cocoa solids (28%) and milk solids (14%).[30]

Similar products

By 1920, the Toblerone recipe already faced competition from other manufacturers, for instance from another Swiss manufacturer, Cailler, who launched the Chocmel tablet that year.[31] Another comparable chocolate made in Switzerland (in this case both for the ingredients and shape) is Mahony, produced by Frey.[32][33]

In July 2017, in response to Toblerone's 2016 reduction in size, the British variety store chain Poundland launched its own version of Toblerone called "Twin Peaks", which is larger than the modified Toblerone bar.[34]

Cultural impact

The distinct pyramidal shape of the bar lent its name to the Toblerone line, a series of anti-tank emplacements from World War II era, prevalent in Switzerland's border areas.[35][36][37]

The interior of the Tobler factory in Switzerland was the location where the title sequence of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) was filmed. However, the majority of the film was produced in West Germany.[38]

British comedy character Alan Partridge battled a longstanding addiction to Toblerones, which became a running gag of his TV series.[39]

In 1995, it was revealed that the Swedish politician Mona Sahlin had misused her government-issued credit card for unauthorised purchases. Because she had bought, among many other more expensive items, two bars of Toblerone, pro-Sahlin journalists attempted to downplay her abuse of parliamentary financial privileges as the "Toblerone affair", but Sahlin was nevertheless forced to step down as a Prime Ministerial candidate. She returned to politics in 1998.[40]

A triangular set of residences for students of the University of Manchester on the Oxford Road, Manchester, England, built in about 1975 are known as the Toblerones.[41][42]

The largest-sized Toblerone in production[43] is used as a running gag in the 2017 Netflix series Neo Yokio.[44]

See also

• List of references to the Matterhorn

Bibliography

• Schott, Ben (2003). Schott's Food & Drink Miscellany. London: Bloomsbury ISBN 0-7475-6654-2

External links