Toblerone loses Swiss exclusivity as production shifts east

SF Urban Properties AG

23/06/2022 12:30

ZURICH, June 23 (Reuters) - Toblerone maker Mondelez
 MDLZ.O  will shift some production of its iconic triangular
chocolate bars to Slovakia from Switzerland at the end of next
year, citing strong growth and the need to boost capacity.
    "From the end of 2023, we'll add a limited Toblerone
production in Slovakia," Mondelez spokeswoman Livia Kolmitz said
in an emailed statement on Thursday, confirming a report by
Swiss broadcaster SRF.
    Food companies are facing high cost inflation, but Kolmitz
did not connect the move to cost pressures, instead citing
strong growth which also meant the firm would be increasing
capacity at its Swiss production site in Bern. 
    Toblerone was first launched in 1908 and has been
exclusively produced in Switzerland since the early 1990s.
    Its packaging features the famous Swiss Matterhorn mountain
and advertises "Swiss milk chocolate". 
    Under strict Swiss labelling rules, chocolate made abroad
cannot be called "Swiss", but Kolmitz declined to comment on
whether Toblerone would be changing its packaging.    

 (Reporting by Silke Koltrowitz;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
 ((silke.koltrowitz@thomsonreuters.com; +41 41 528 3638;))