No I Am Not A Diabetic And Have A Very Sweet Tooth
Toblerone is a chocolate you often see at duty free and are tempted to grab a few to give to family members or friends. I used to buy one every now and then more as a treat because I enjoyed the chewy honey almond nougat within the chocolate. You knew the chocolate was Swiss so they had a reputation for quality and the experience was always the same with each bar.
Two weeks ago I bought a small Toblerone and that experience was not the same as it was severely lacking the honey almond nougat inside. I actually checked one piece of the chocolate and found 1 speck of the nougat which was not the standard as each little slab used to have multiple so much so you could see the white flecks embedded in the chocolate.
I knew the ownership had changed over the years with the latest being the US giant Mondelez which is or was part of Kraft Foods before they split the company creating Mondelez. Over the years Mondelez has been buying up certain iconic brands like Toblerone with one eye on growing this segment. Toblerone was first created in 1908 so it has been around for a while and it only took this US company a couple of years to cock things up reducing their manufacturing costs through cutting back on ingredients which is a big shame.
A few years ago the Matterhorn on a Toblerone bar was deemed misleading as the company had moved production for some of the Toblerone bars to a factory in Slovenia and Toblerone could no longer use the Matterhorn image as part of their brand. This has obviously been placed on hold as this sub standard bar still has this on it's packaging. If you lose the Matterhorn image then I can guarantee you the sales will plummet and why Mondelez are now investing in the Bern factory and keeping Toblerone 100% Swiss.
When you travel around main land Europe it becomes rather clear what is chocolate and what is not chocolate as Cadbury's will be found in the confectionery section with the sweets and not with the chocolates. The common denominator here is Mondelez also owns Cadbury and the glass and a half advert of milk promised in every bar is now deemed for the history books.
Not only is there less milk, but Cadbury's does not reach the cocoa minimum threshold of 35% and is only at 20% and why it is just a sugary brown bar that does not qualify. Why mess with the recipe and ingredients that has been proven over the years is beyond me and this is all about more profits not caring about the consumer or the brand.
A premium brand like Toblerone is a premium priced chocolate and as a consumer you expect to taste the difference and not feel cheated. I am no fan of US "chocolate" and find it disgusting and would avoid it at all costs so having a US company in charge does not bode well if you like your chocolate.
I guess these days I am running out of chocolates hoping Mondelez leaves the other manufacturers alone. Cote D Or used to be one of my favorites and have since dropped them. This now leaves a few of the top of my head like Lindt, Ritter and Ferro Rocher. Let us hope they can remain out of Mondelez grips and kind of think how can they as Mondelez will buy them out and is a matter of time.