which acquired the product from former owner Jacobs Suchard in 1990. It is produced in

Bern and is well known for its distinctive prism shape.

History Toblerone was created by Theodor Tobler in

Bern, Switzerland in 1908. Theodor Tobler, with his cousin Emil Baumann, developed a

unique milk chocolate including nougat, almonds and honey with a distinctive triangular shape.

The image of a bear is hidden in the Matterhorn high mountain, symbolizing the town of the

chocolate's origin. 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. 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 Federal Institute for 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. Tobler

company merged with the Jacobs coffee company in 1982 to create Jacobs Suchard. Mondelēz

acquired the majority of Jacobs Suchard, including Toblerone, in 1990.

Name The product's name is a portmanteau combining

Tobler's name with the Italian word torrone. The name also contains the name of the place

where it is produced: Toblerone. And the logo contains a bear, the emblem of the city.

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 Toblerone Schoggifest starting in

2008 a special bar has been created, each with 11 peaks. The weight represents the years

of Toblerone. In 1932 Tobler made the first filled bars

of chocolate, the Tobler-O-rum. Since the 1970s, other variants of Toblerone

have been produced. These include: Plain chocolate

(dark chocolate) in a green or black triangular box

White chocolate in a white triangular box

Snowtop editions with white chocolate peaks, also

in a white/silver triangular box Filled editions

milk chocolate with a white chocolate centre OneByOne

individually wrapped triangular chunks Toblerone Pralines

released in 1997, a single peaked version in the distinctive yellow 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

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.

Toblerone Tobelle Toblerone thins in a yellow triangular box

Manufacturing Toblerone is today manufactured exclusively

in the Swiss city of Bern-Brünnen. It has in the past been manufactured in other

locations including Bedford in England. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was manufactured under

license for the Yugoslav market by Kraš in Zagreb.

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 license during the 1970s and

1980s. Another comparable product is Mahony, produced by the company Chocolat-Frey AG in

Switzerland. Cultural impact

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.

In 1995 it was revealed that the Swedish politician Mona Sahlin had bought, among other things,

two bars of Toblerone using her Riksdag credit card. This became known as the Toblerone affair.

Sahlin was forced to step down as a candidate for the post as Prime Minister. She returned

to politics in 1998. A triangular shaped 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.

In theatre production, a three-sided, free-standing, wheeled version of the standard theatre flat

is commonly called a "Toblerone" or "Tobe" due to its physical resemblance to the confection.

Alleged child labour In 2013, Stop the Traffik - a charity that

aims to stop human trafficking - ran a campaign titled "When Will Toblerone Be Traffik-Free?",

which aimed to target Toberlone's use of children in the harvesting of the ingredient, cocoa.

16,000 'postcards' were sent out to campaigners, which were then signed and returned to Stop

the Traffik's London office. These postcards were then hand delivered to Mondelēze's headquarters.

References

Bibliography Schott, Ben Schott's Food & Drink Miscellany.

London: Bloomsbury ISBN 0-7475-6654-2 External links

Official website History of Toblerone with packaging perspective,

Design Technology