He Mount Matterhorn, the most emblematic mountain of the Swiss Alps due to its pronounced pyramid shape, will no longer be the logo of chocolates Toblerone. The reason for the change in the traditional image is because the multinational food company Mondelez, current owner of the candy, decided to shift its production from the Swiss capital, bern, to the Slovak population of Bratislava, in June of last year.
The geographic shift allowed the Swissness law which is in charge of protecting the brand of the alpine country and all its symbols. The renowned Monte Cervino is one of them, so Toblerone cannot use its image if it does not produce on Swiss territory. A legal ruling that conditioned the mythical chocolate, one of the most coveted in the Duty Free from international airports.
This curious novelty has made the origins of the brand known again. Its creators were Theodor Tobler and his cousin, Emil Baumann. In 1908, they produced the chocolate known as “Toblerone” as a result of a mixture of the first name and “torrone”, Italian word that refers to nougat. Only shortly after this invention did the founders take out a patent for both the denomination and the particular and well-known triangular shape.
In the first instance, the interpretation of its morphology was that it was assimilated to the famous alpine mountain. But, also, other speculations arose, that the form made reference to the dancers of Folies Bergères from Paris or what was it about of a freemason symbol. This last hypothesis was confirmed by the founder’s own grandson, the historian Andreas Tobler. It was during the brand’s centenary celebration that Andreas clarified that his grandfather was a member of Freemasonry and that the chocolate pyramids could come from his symbology.
Although Toblerone was a world-renowned candy company, it had to deal with the ravages of the Great Depression and the world wars. For this reason, the company created by Tobler would pass into the hands of the banks and then end up with different owners. In the 1990s, he acquired it Kraft Foods and internationalized the brand. Time after, Kraft Foods Happened to be called Mondelez International in 2012.
Another of the curiosities of the brand, far from the world of sweets, is that it gave its name to a notorious case of corruption in European lands. Swedish Vice President Mona Sahlin he had to resign for using his parliamentary credit card for personal purchases, including some delicious Toblerone bars.
In turn, the association of the chocolate brand with the chain Duty Free it is not coincidence either. The Swiss brand was present in the luxurious gondolas at the first store that was inaugurated in 1947, in Ireland, and which imposed a custom for travelers who must spend time in airports, acquiring gifts and gifts in the form of delicious triangular bars.
by RN
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