27 Mar Toblerone says goodbye to the Swiss mountains and its iconic logo
Due to the relocation of part of its chocolate production to Bratislava (Slovakia) Toblerone, the popular chocolate brand created in Bern in 1908, will no longer incorporate the image of the Matterhorn on its packaging in order to comply with Swiss legislation.
“Swissness” Legislation
On 1 January 2017, the Swissness Legislation came into force, which restricts the use of Swiss iconography on products and services that do not meet the criteria of “Swiss origin”.
The core of this legislative initiative is set out in the Trademark Protection Act, which specifies the conditions under which a product or service can be considered genuinely Swiss. In the case of milk and dairy products, these must be made from 100% local raw materials, although there are exceptions for materials that cannot be produced in Switzerland, such as cocoa (Art. 48.b.2 and 3 of the Trademark Protection Act).
So, what will happen to Toblerone?
The new packaging for Toblerone chocolates will include the image of a more general mountain – not associated with Switzerland and its iconography – and will change the description “of Switzerland” to “established in Switzerland” to comply with its laws.
And Spain…?
The purpose of the Swissness Legislation is to preserve the value and reputation of Swiss symbols and indications of origin worldwide and to fight against their misuse. Unlike Switzerland, Spain does not provide for any similar protection, other than the prohibition of registration of the insignia, emblems or coats of arms of Spain and its geographical divisions without the authorization of the competent authority (Art. 5.1.l) and n) of the Spanish Trademark Law).
Would you be in favour of a similar project in Spain? What images do you consider that identify the country and should be reserved for products that are essentially Spanish?
Author: Jiarong Wu Zhou
Photo by Safwan on Unsplash.com