Toblerone no longer Swiss? The director of Swissness Enforcement explains

As It Happens6:25Toblerone no longer Swiss? The director of Swissness Enforcement explains

Making sure Swiss food really comes from Switzerland is not only a matter of national pride, says the country's director of Swissness Enforcement, it's also about money.

In 2017, Switzerland adopted a law to safeguard the "Swissness" of products. When it comes to food, that means at least four-fifths of the raw materials must come from Switzerland, and the processing that gives a product its "essential characteristics" must be carried out in Switzerland.

That's why Toblerone — the iconic triangle-shaped chocolate bar with a Swiss mountain logo — is no longer branding itself as Swiss chocolate.

Mondelez International, the Illinois-based company that owns Toblerone, is moving some production of the Swiss-invented confection to Slovakia later this year. As a result, it is changing its packaging to remove the words "Swiss" and "Switzerland," the Swiss flag and images of Switzerland's famous Matterhorn mountain.

David Stärkle is the director of Swissness Enforcement, the association that oversees the "Swissness" legislation on behalf of the federal government and the private sector. He spoke to As It Happens host Nil Köksal about what makes a food Swiss — and why that's important.

Does eating a Toblerone feel a little less sweet in Switzerland now?

We are kind of keen about and really proud of Swiss chocolate here in Switzerland. And when it's not Swiss chocolate anymore, then we actually don't eat it anymore.

I know this has been in the works for a while. How are people in Switzerland feeling?

Toblerone has quite a history, especially in Bern, the capital of Switzerland. They founded Toblerone [115] years ago in Bern … so we have a kind of a strong connection in Bern with chocolate, and especially Toblerone. 

So that's kind of a loss … but, you know, time moves on.

So you're getting a sense that people are a bit sad about it? It is a pretty iconic brand.

Yes, it is, of course. Because, Matterhorn is kind of the most famous mountain in the world and it stands for Switzerland.

Just take me through the rules.

We have general criteria, like 80 per cent of the weight of the raw materials must come from Switzerland. And the essential processing step [must] also be done in Switzerland.

Of course we have some exceptions like the cocoa, which is a part of the chocolate.… Cocoa plant[s], they don't grow here in Switzerland, [so] this part is out of the calculation.

But everything else has to be made in Switzerland?

Yeah. Especially milk … which we think is really the most important part of the chocolate. It has to be 100 per cent from Switzerland.

A spokesperson for the company [said] that there will be a "modernized and streamlined mountain logo that aligns with the geometric and triangular aesthetic." So it's going to have a mountain on the package. Do you think people who eat their Toblerone are really going to notice a difference, or do you think this is about some free marketing for Toblerone?

Actually, it's both. You know, some free marketing.

When you know that it's not coming from Switzerland anymore because it's not the Matterhorn on it, or it's not called "Toblerone of Switzerland" ... that will change something.

I can't speak for you Canadian folks, but what I know from my colleagues in Canada, they are also keen to know from where this chocolate is, and they prefer Swiss chocolate.

Will the price — should the price — go down, in your view? Because they're not cheap.

At the end of the line, it's not about the price. It's not about the design. It's about … this decision to move out of Switzerland somehow and to produce chocolate called Toblerone.

We have a lot of Swiss chocolate producers here in Switzerland. I guess it's not a big loss, in my opinion.

I know it's been a busy week for you in terms of Swissness enforcement. For our listeners, there's an entirely different story about a U.S. court ruling that Gruyere cheese can be made in the United States. How does that sit with you?

It's a wake-up call ... for all associations in Switzerland and producers of products. It's, in [a] certain way, a call to do more enforcement outside of Switzerland. 

You do do some Swissness enforcement outside of the country, including in Canada, which you've mentioned a couple of times. What kind of work do you do here?

Of course, the Swiss [laws] about Swissness, they don't apply in Canada ... but we are looking for other mechanisms to enforce this.

Lying is never protected by law. And this is actually the way we have to go through.

So when you have a product with a Swiss cross on it and [it] has nothing to do with Switzerland, then it's a lie. 

Have you found examples like that in Canada that you can share?

Yes, I found some examples, but I can't share, I'm sorry, because it's ongoing.

I'm kind of fascinated not by just your job and the title of it, as well, but are you just eating amazing food all the time?

Never.

No? Don't you have to taste it to make sure?

[Chuckles] No, I'm happy to get some food because, you know, to do enforcement worldwide and also in Switzerland, it's really time consuming.

We have, like, not so much manpower ... and we have like 280 to 300 cases a year. So I will be happy to get some chocolate.

It's endless. In each country I look, it's so many cases. And the reason why — and this is perhaps something important to know — is that Switzerland has a certain reputation.

Studies found out that for some products, the consumers are willing to pay like 200 per cent more when it comes to watches, for example, or 50 per cent more when it comes to chocolate. And the average, it's 20 per cent over all products and services.

So what I'm protecting is more than a billion Swiss Francs in total each year, because the Swiss indication has its worth. 

With files from The Associated Press. Interview produced by Katie Geleff. Edited for length and clarity.