MIDDLESEX, U.K. -- Mondelez International has reduced the weight and changed the shape of two Toblerone products in the United Kingdom, and the impact is being felt across the pond. A few jokesters have even posted suggestions for new uses for the bars, such as a desk organizer or a CD holder.
The maker of the Swiss chocolate bars kept prices the same, noting that an increase in the cost of ingredients—especially cocoa—led to the changes.
Unhappy customers have been filling Toblerone's Facebook page with rants, even though the changes only affect buyers in Britain. The former 170-gram bar, which is sold mainly at Poundland, a British discount retailer, is now 150 grams. To reduce the size, Mondelez reduced the size of the peak of the triangle and made a larger gap between peaks.
The outrage in Britain has led to coverage in several U.S. media outlets including the Associated Press, The New York Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and New York Post. CNN also posted an article about the changes on the Money section of its website.
“Toblerone is all about the triangle,” Stephen Mason commented on Facebook. “Why couldn’t you just lose a triangle at the end or make the triangles smaller?”
The formerly 400-gram milk-chocolate bar now weighs in at 360 grams. Packaging is untouched, and the altered shape is apparent only after the box is opened.
Most consumers are likely unaware of the changes because the product generally looks and is priced the same. The tactic is similar to that used by companies trying to avoid price increases, and instead reduce the contents of a product without changing the packaging.
The change to the 400-gram bar was made early this year, and the 150-gram version appeared in British discount stores last month. In announcing the size change on its Facebook page, Toblerone wrote: "We carry these costs for as long as possible, but to ensure Toblerone remains on-shelf, is affordable and retains the triangular shape, we have had to reduce the weight of just two of our bars in the U.K., from the wider range of available Toblerone products."
To date, more than 1,200 consumers have commented about the change, some praising the company's transparency but most outraged at the change.
A sample of comments:
- Cathy White: "It looks dreadful. Think you should have reduced the length and kept the chunky triangles."
- Nicholas Barker: "You should have just increased the price. It's not as if people eat Toblerone everyday. You could literally double the price and people would still buy it."
- Alistair Calder: "Utterly ridiculous decision. Make it shorter or make it more expensive--much more honest."
- Michael Cornejo: "Can we please get back to the size it was and MAKE TOBLERONE GREAT AGAIN?!"
Gemma Pryor, the head of external affairs for Britain at Mondelez International's Europe headquarters in Middlesex, U.K., said the company had to choose between changing the shape of the bar and raising prices—a significant issue in Britain, where the economy is facing uncertainty and the value of the pound has weakened after voters backed leaving the European Union in a June referendum known as Brexit.
The triangular milk-chocolate bar, sold in a yellow package with red letters, has been around since 1908. The founder, Theodor Tobler, combined his family name with “torrone,” the Italian word for nougat, and patented his recipe of chocolate mixed with milk and honey. The Matterhorn in the Alps is said to be the inspiration behind the pointed bar, and is featured on some of the packaging, but Tobler’s sons have said their father was inspired by a line of dancers at the Folies Bergeres cabaret in Paris.
Mondelez International, which has U.S. headquarters in East Hanover, N.J., noted that while the overall look of the bar is different, the recipe remains the same and the chocolate is still made in Switzerland.
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