Toblerone

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Toblerone

Toblerone product logo,

showing the Matterhorn at left

Product type Confectionery

Owner Mondelēz International (U.S.)

Country Switzerland

Introduced 1908; 113 years ago

Related List of Kraft brands

brands

Previous Kraft General Food (-2012), Jacobs Suchard AG (-

owners 1990), Interfood S.A. (-1982), Tobler (-1970)

Website http://www.toblerone.com
 Toblerone (/ˈtoʊbləroʊn/; German: [tobləˈroːnə]) is a Swiss chocolate
bar brand[1] owned by US confectionery company Mondelēz International, Inc.,
formerly Kraft Foods. Kraft acquired Toblerone from owner Jacobs Suchard in 1990. It
is produced in Bern, Switzerland[2] and the bear symbol of the city is depicted in the logo.
Toblerone is known for its distinctive shape, a series of joined triangular prisms.

Contents

 1History
 2Sizes and variants
o 2.12016 size changes
 3Manufacturing
 4Similar products
 5Cultural impact
 6See also
 7References
 8Bibliography
 9External links

History[edit]
Toblerone was created by Emil Baumann & Theodor Tobler (1876–1941) in Bern,
Switzerland, 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 shaped and packaging. The product's
name is a portmanteau combining Tobler's name with the Italian word torrone (a type of
nougat).[3][4][5]
The triangular shape of the Matterhorn in the Swiss 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. [6] Nevertheless,
a silhouette of the Matterhorn appears on the modern Toblerone packaging, as seen in
the photo above right.
Some early advertisements for Tobler chocolate appeared in the international
languages Esperanto[7] and Ido.[8]
Theodor Tobler applied for a patent for the Toblerone manufacturing process in Bern in
1909.[6] The Toblerone brand was trademarked in 1909, at the Swiss Federal Institute of
Intellectual Property in Bern.[9]
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. Mondelēz (Kraft Foods Inc at that time) acquired the majority of Jacobs
Suchard, including Toblerone, in 1990.

Sizes and variants[edit]

Advertising in the 1960s included the production of a model Volkswagen Type 2 by Corgi Toys, featuring
Toblerone designs on its side panels

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:

Tin
Size(g) Mini 35 g 50 g 75 g 100 g 150 g 200 g 360 g 750 g 4.5 kg
y

Size(oz 1.2 3.5 7.0

Peaks 3 3 8 11 11 12 9 10 11 17 12

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.[10]
Since the 1970s, other variants of Toblerone have been produced. These include:
Plain chocolate
(dark chocolate) in a yellow or black triangular box (1969)
White chocolate
in a white triangular box (1973)
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 and 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
500 g 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.[11]
Toblerone Tobelle
Toblerone thins in a beige triangular box
Crispy Coconut
with honey and almond nougat and coconut
2016 size changes[edit]
In 2016, the 400g and 360g 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 170g and 150g respectively; other
sizes of bar were unaffected. The change
was not well received,[12][13][14] with
one MSP calling for "government action" by
the Scottish Parliament over the change.
[15]
 In 2018, it was announced that the bars
would revert to their original shape, and the
150g bar would be replaced by a 200g bar.[16]

Manufacturing[edit]
In the past it has been manufactured in
other locations including Bedford in England.
[17]
 In the 1970s and 1980s, it was
manufactured under license for
the Yugoslav market
by Kraš in Zagreb (present-day Croatia).[citation
needed]

Similar products[edit]
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 license during
the 1970s and 1980s.[citation needed]
Another comparable product is Mahony,
[18]
 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.[19]

Cultural impact[edit]
The distinct pyramidal shape of the bar lent
its name to the Toblerone line, a series of
anti-tank emplacements prevalent in
Switzerland's border areas.[20][21]
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.[22]
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.[23]
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.[24][25]
The largest-sized Toblerone in
production[26] is featured as a running gag in
the 2017 Netflix series Neo Yokio.[27]
In September 2019, a custom photo of a
custom Toblerone, spelling
"TBBLOBNOERN", went viral on Twitter.[28]

See also[edit]
 List of references to the Matterhorn

References[edit]
1. ^ "Brand Family". Mondelezinternational.com.
Retrieved 2016-02-11.
2. ^ "Toblerone FAQs".  toblerone.co.uk.
Retrieved 2016-06-27.
3. ^ "Toblerone - How it all began - 1900 The
First Toblerone". Retrieved  2018-08-01.
4. ^ "TOBLERONE - Questions et
Réponses".  Toblerone.ch  (in French).
Retrieved 2016-02-11.
5. ^ "La marque suisse: Toblerone - Toutes
Taxes Comprises - TV - Play RTS - Radio
Télévision Suisse". Rts.ch (in French). 2010-
04-30. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
6. ^ Jump up to:a b "Toblerone - Chocolate - Our
Secret". Retrieved  2018-08-01.
7. ^ "Tobler (fama pro Toblerone) estis
Esperantisto. Tobler (famous for
Toblerone...)".  google.com.
8. ^ "Home". Swissworld.org. Retrieved 2016-02-
11.
9. ^ "Toblerone: 1909".  How it All Began:
Tobler's Chocolate. Kraft Foods. 2006.
Archived from  the original on March 24, 2009.
Retrieved 2008-02-03.
10. ^ "TOBLERONE - Toblerone Schoggifest
2010". Toblerone.ch. Archived from the
original on 2008-12-22. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
11. ^ "FAQ". Toblerone.com. Archived from the
original on December 18, 2008.
Retrieved January 1, 2009.
12. ^ "Toblerone triangle change upsets
fans".  BBC News. 8 November 2016.
Retrieved 8 November 2016.
13. ^ Olivennes, Hannah (8 November
2016). "Toblerone Alters Shape of 2 Chocolate
Bars, and Fans Are Outraged". The New York
Times. Retrieved  9 November  2016.
14. ^ "Higher costs take bite out of Toblerone,
shrinking UK bars". Sydney Morning Herald. 9
November 2016.
15. ^ "MSP calls for government action over
change to Toblerones". BBC News.
Retrieved 1 December 2016.
16. ^ "Toblerone to revert to original shape". BBC
News. 21 July 2018.
17. ^ Hutber, Jenna (8 November
2016). "Bedford's lost Toblerone
history".  Bedfordshire News.
18. ^ "Chocolat Frey". Chocolatfrey.ch.
Retrieved 2016-02-11.
19. ^ Selwood, Daniel. "Poundland unveils Twin
Peaks, a Toblerone-style chocolate bar," The
Grocer, 19 June 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
20. ^ "The Toblerone Line".  www.toblerones.ch.
Retrieved 2018-08-01.
21. ^ "7 things you probably didn't know about the
Toblerone chocolate bar".  Cool FM.
22. ^ "Willy Wonka Movie Trivia".
23. ^ Svensson, Britta (2007-01-05).  "Nej det
handlade inte bara om Toblerone..." (in
Swedish).  Expressen. Archived from the
original on 2012-10-21. Retrieved 2007-01-24.
24. ^ "University of Manchester". The Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition.
Retrieved 3 November 2014.
25. ^ "The Whitworth Park Residencel". Our
Manchester - Manchester History Net.
Archived from  the original on 3 November
2014. Retrieved  3 November  2014.
26. ^ Frank, Allegra (2017-09-25). "Neo Yokio's
big Toblerone is real, to the internet's
delight".  Polygon. Retrieved 2019-02-11.
27. ^ Bryan, Scott.  "There's A Huge Obsession
With Toblerones In Netflix's "Neo Yokio" And
It's Sparked A Weird Meme". BuzzFeed.
Retrieved 2019-02-11.
28. ^ "My roommate got super stoned a couple
weeks back and found out you can order a
personalized big toblerone. He immediately
forgot about it until it showed up last
night". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-12-13.