Emil Baumann

Toblerone ( , ) is a Swiss chocolate brand produced in Bern. Toblerone is known for its distinctive shape, a series of joined triangular prisms and lettering engraved in the chocolate.

Since 2012, the brand has been owned by US company Mondelez International (successor of Kraft Foods Inc., which had acquired Toblerone from owner Jacobs Suchard in 1990).

History

The Tobler chocolate factory was founded in 1899 by Emil Baumann & Theodor Tobler (1876–1941) in Bern. In 1908, Emil Baumann, the cousin of Theodor Tobler, created the unique recipe consisting of milk chocolate including nougat, almonds, and honey. Theodor Tobler came up with the distinctive triangular shape and packaging. The product's name is a portmanteau combining Tobler's name with the Italian word '' torrone'' (a type of nougat).

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 Bergères created as the finale of a show that Theodor saw. Another source of inspiration could have been the similar triangular packaging of the Delta Peter brand. Nevertheless, a silhouette of the Matterhorn appears on the modern Toblerone packaging, as seen in the photo above right. A bear, the symbol of Bern, is also depicted on the Toblerone logo.

Some early advertisements for Tobler chocolate appeared in the international languages Esperanto and Ido.

Theodor Tobler applied for a patent for the Toblerone manufacturing process in Bern in 1909. The Toblerone brand was trademarked in 1909, at the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in Bern.

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.

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.
; 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

2016 size changes

In 2016, the 400g and 170g bars in the United Kingdom were modified to have two peaks removed and larger gaps between each peak, which cut the weight of the bars and reduced costs while retaining the same package size and retail price. This change reduced the weights of the aforementioned bars to 360g and 150g respectively; other sizes of bar were unaffected. The change was not well received, with one MSP calling for "government action" by the Scottish Parliament over the change. In 2018, it was announced that the bars would revert to its original shape, and the 170g (150g) bar would be replaced by a 200g bar.

Manufacturing

In the past it has been manufactured in other locations including Bedford in England, as well as Dundee in Scotland from the 1930s up to 1969. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was manufactured under licence for the Yugoslav market by Kraš in Zagreb (present-day Croatia).
From winter of 2023 producer Mondelez will start additional limited production in slovak factory (known formerly as Figaro) in Bratislava and will use a new form of bar wrapping, stating that the Toblerone brand was "created in Switzerland". According to Swiss rules, products produced abroad cannot be described as "Swiss".

Similar products

A similar product is the Croatian product Kolumbo, made by factory Kraš from Zagreb. This chocolate is also composed of pyramids of hazelnuts and honey. Kraš was producing Toblerone under licence during the 1970s and 1980s.

Another comparable product is Mahony, produced by the company Chocolat-Frey AG in Switzerland.

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

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 two era, prevalent in Switzerland's border areas.

The interior of the Tobler factory in Switzerland was the location where the title sequence of '' Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'' was filmed. However, the majority of the film was produced in West Germany.

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

The film '' Chicken Run'' briefly shows a Toblerone being used as a wheel chock for the flying machine in the climax (the packaging being changed to read "Tasty Choc" both as a pun and to avoid trademark issues).

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". These attempts were ultimately unsuccessful, and Sahlin was forced to step down as a candidate for the post as Prime Minister. She returned to politics in 1998.

A triangular set of student residences on the Oxford Road, Manchester, for students of the University of Manchester built circa 1975 and resembling the chocolate bar are known as the Toblerones.

The largest-sized Toblerone in production is featured as a running gag in the 2017 Netflix series '' Neo Yokio''.

See also

* List of references to the Matterhorn

References

Bibliography

* Schott, Ben (2003). ''Schott's Food & Drink Miscellany''. London: Bloomsbury

External links

*

{{Mondelez

Mondelez International brands
Brand name chocolate
Chocolate bars
Almonds
Swiss confectionery
Swiss chocolate
1990 mergers and acquisitions