Fans have today continued to express their frustration as a Toblerone product – once described as “possibly the best chocolate” – has been axed.
The owner of Toblerone, Mondelez, confirmed it has discontinued the Toblerone Dark bars, a beloved chocolate treat in the UK. Making the announcement, the firm admitted it would be “disappointing for some consumers” – but the backlash across social media this Easter appears stronger.
Writing on Facebook, one fan said: “Dark chocolate version is the best!” Another shared: “I only like dark chocolate …Why are they discontinuing it?? It is less sweet and healthier. Well, another good thing gone.” A further Facebook user posted: “What a sad day for the world of chocolate.”
Toblerone Dark was first introduced in 1969 and so has enticed chhocolate fans had more than 50 years. Over the years, one reviewer of the bar said: “This is possibly the best chocolate, if you can eat almonds and nougat with dark chocolate.”
And so the decision by Mondelez, an American multinational which retained the Swiss chocolate product in 2012 when previous owner Kraft became Mondelez, has baffled shoppers. One expressed their sadness for their mother, writing online: “My mum adores these!” Another posted: “Dreadful news, I enjoy these.”
A spokesperson for Mondelez, based in Chicago, Illnois, said: “While we understand that this may be disappointing for some consumers, we continue to invest in Toblerone.” The sweet giant, did not give any further details, such as any reason behind the move. The firm, which now also owns Cadbury’s, operates in more than 150 countries, but it is unclear if the Toblerone Dark will be discontinued in each of these or just the UK.
Toblerone was invented in Switzerland by Theodor Tobler and Emil Baumann in 1908. The brand’s name is a play on words from the names “Tobler” and “Torrone,” the Italian name for honey-almond nougat.
Last year, the company was banned from using the iconic image of the Swiss Matterhorn mountain peak on its packaging after it announced it was moving production from Switzerland to Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia.
Having the mountain peak on the packaging would’ve violated the country’s Swissness Act, a piece of legislation passed in 2017 that bans national symbols and Swiss crosses from the packaging of products that do not meet Swissness criteria.
Under the act, edible products using Swiss national symbols – or claiming to be “Swiss made” – must have at least 80% of the product’s raw materials come from Switzerland. This increases to 100% for milk and dairy products. Because the production of its chocolates moved outside of Switzerland, the company was forced to replace the words “of Switzerland” with “established in Switzerland.”
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