Toblerone removes Swiss mountain logo because the chocolate no longer meets ‘Swissness’ criteria

Toblerone packages will no longer feature its iconic Matterhorn mountain peak logo in an effort not to violate Switzerland’s Swissness Act.

The change in packaging stems from the U.S. company’s decision to move some of its production from Switzerland to Slovakia.

Instead of the familiar Swiss mountain peak, the chocolate wrapper will now feature “a modernized and streamlined mountain logo that aligns with the geometric and triangular aesthetic,” a spokesperson for the U.S. parent company Mondelez International told Swiss newspaper Aargauer Zeitung.

For products to use Swiss symbols or label themselves as Swiss-made, they have to meet Swissness criteria, according to the Swissness Act that came into effect in 2017.

Food products must use at least 80% of raw materials originating from Switzerland, except for dairy products, which must be 100%, to meet the criteria. There are some exceptions for materials that can’t naturally be found in Switzerland, notably cocoa.

Toblerone will also be changing the wording on its wrappers from “of Switzerland” to “established in Switzerland.”

Mondelez announced last year that it would be outsourcing some production to Bratislava as a cost-cutting measure. The Bern factory in Switzerland will remain open, but it is unclear how many employees have been impacted as a result of the production changes.

Bratislava is already the production center of some other Mondelez brands, including Milka and Suchard.

The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry supported strengthening the Swissness criteria for earning the Swiss-made label. Switzerland dominates the luxurious watches industry, with brands like Chopard, Omega, Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet.

The Swiss Watch Industry said that the Swissness criteria meets the expectations of global consumers “who are prepared to pay more for products marked Swiss made but expect in return, quite rightly, that the major part of such products should be manufactured in Switzerland.”