Study shows: Toblerone minus Matterhorn could lose ground
In a recent study, the market and social research institute LINK determined what challenges would arise for Toblerone if the brand lost the Matterhorn logo.
From summer 2023, the Matterhorn may no longer be used on the packaging or in the logo of Toblerone due to the relocation of production from Bern to Bratislava. The Swissness rules that determine this will also mean that the lettering will have to be changed from "Toblerone - of Switzerland" to "Toblerone - established in Switzerland".
The media response to this has caused quite a stir, especially among the Swiss population. According to LINK's Swiss Brand Observer (the largest continuous Swiss brand study), the Swiss population's perception of Toblerone in the media has increased more than tenfold in recent weeks.
Around one in three people also remember hearing negative news about Toblerone. "This means that important image criteria such as the perceived Swissness of Toblerone as well as consideration as a critical behavioral indicator for future sales have fallen to a new all-time low in the Swiss Brand Observer," says Stefan Reiser, Managing Director Marketing Research LINK (note: the Swiss Brand Observer has been surveyed weekly since September 2021).
Study shows: Sales could decline
To further analyze the possible consequences of the now necessary adaptation of Toblerone and its packaging, LINK also conducted a representative study in German-speaking Switzerland from March 10 to 13, 2023. The participants saw and evaluated either the Toblerone logo in the original with Matterhorn, without mountain or with a generic mountain.
"The results show that Toblerone faces major challenges in maintaining its current market position, at least in Switzerland," says Dr. Steffen Schmidt, Director Marketing Science & Agile Insights LINK, who is responsible for the study. According to his estimates based on the study, there is a current risk for sales that instead of 46.7 % of Swiss people buying Toblerone at least once a year, only 24.1 % will do so in the future - at least when viewed in the short term with the accompanying critical media response without appropriate marketing adaptation.
Positive associations are revealed
The reason for the declining appeal is that without the Matterhorn, Toblerone loses a great deal of associative power in all the brand dimensions studied. Critical for the success of the chocolate brand are, among other things, a significantly reduced taste expectation, the decreased perceived social customer benefit, a decreased willingness to recommend and to buy as well as the strongly lower tradition perception after the removal of the Matterhorn.
