Toblerone ( /ˈtoʊbləroʊn/; German: [tobləˈroːnə]) is a chocolate bar brand owned by Kraft Foods, who acquired the product from former owner Jacobs Suchard in 1990. It is well-known for its distinctive packaging, its prism shape (triangular prism or pentahedron) and its ubiquity in duty-free shops.
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.[1]
Toblerone was created by Theodor Tobler (1876 - 1941) and Emil Baumann in Bern, Switzerland in 1908. They developed a unique milk chocolate including nougat, almonds and honey with a distinctive triangular shape. The product's name is a portmanteau combining Tobler's name with the Italian word torrone (a type of nougat). The image of a bear is hidden in the Matterhorn mountain symbolizing the town of its origin.[2]
Theodor Tobler applied for a patent for the Toblerone manufacturing process in Bern in 1906.[3] The Toblerone brand was trademarked in 1909, at the Federal Institute for Intellectual Property in Bern.[4]
The Tobler company was independent for many years. In 1970, it merged with Suchard, the makers of Milka, to become Interfood. A merger with the Jacobs coffee company in 1982 created Jacobs Suchard. Kraft acquired the majority of Jacobs Suchard, including Toblerone, in 1990.
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In 1932 Tobler made the first filled bars of chocolate, the Tobler-O-rum..
Current versions are sold in countries across the world.
Since the 1970s, other versions of the Toblerone have been produced. These include:
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:
| Size | Tiny | Mini | 35 g | 50 g | 75 g | 100 g | 200 g | 400 g | 750 g | 4.5 kg | 102 kg[7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peaks | 3 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 12 | 11 |
Toblerone is today manufactured exclusively in the Swiss city of Bern-Brünnen.[8] In the 1970s and 1980s, it was manufactured under license for the Yugoslav market by Kraš in Zagreb (present-day Croatia).
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 (i.e. taxpayer's money). 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.[9]
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.