INDO SWISS - new media

NewsA Hundred & Going StrongDeliciouslySwitzerland's best known chocolate began as anexperiment over a kitchen stove; a century later it is afavourite in 110 countries round the world.The Swiss pride themselves on their innovative spirit, andToblerone is no exception. No one had mixed chocolateand nougat before Theodor Tobler and his cousin EmilBaumann tried out the idea over that stove in 1908.But equally groundbreaking were the marketing ideasthat tumbled out of Tobler and pushed his brand ingeneral and the new bar in particular to the top.The triangular shape was in itself a stroke of genius – andpractical too. The pieces could be broken off and theremainder pushed back into the tube.The widespread legend is that Tobler was inspired by theshape of the Matterhorn, but according to his grandsonAndreas, Theodor in fact got the idea from the dancershad seen at the Folies Bergeres in Paris forming a humantriangle as part of their act. The name is a combination ofTobler's surname and "torrone", the Italian word fornougat. Typically for Tobler, it simultaneously promotedthe brand and the individual product. He was quick topatent both name and recipe.Marketing manTobler had early understood the importance of getting hisname in the public eye, at a time when manymanufacturers expected to sell their products by word ofmouth.Tobler was well aware that the domestic market was verysmall, and that he needed worldwide sales. In amarketing event in 1921 Toblerone samples werehanded out to passers-by in London."There will soon be no one in London who has not heardof Toblerone, and this is a city with a larger populationthan the whole of Switzerland," commented the firm'scustomer magazine, Jurnalo Tobler.Triumph and disaster ...Tobler's entrepreneurial spirit and his willingness to takerisks was both his strength and his weakness. He hadtaken over his father's chocolate business in Bern in 1900when he was 24. He was proud of his humble roots andhis business acumen, which set him apart from Bern'sconservative elite.For years the company did very well. It could not only paygood dividends to its shareholders, it also had ahealthcare system for its workers, and provided old ageand disability pensions at a time when this was by nomeans standard.From the beginning Tobler embarked on a course ofexpansion, becoming the third -biggest Swiss chocolatemanufacturer by the early 1920s. But as the decade wenton, economic depression began to bite.He came under fire from his shareholders for the hugeThe company found itself in severe financial difficulty, andsums spent on publicity, and also from the Swiss Heritagein 1931 the creditor banks appointed their own man toSociety for plastering the city with sheet metaltake over. Tobler was squeezed out. He died in 1941.advertisements. But he was unrepentant.After a series of takeovers, Toblerone has been part of"You can become well-known by letting time do its work. Kraft Foods since 2000.But then you risk being overtaken by others before youreach your goal," he once commented to justify hisstrategy.Early advertising focused on the Tobler name. It was onlyin the 1920s that the company started to push Tobleroneitself, initially as a product for women and children....and triumph againBut whatever the fate of the parent company, the bar hascontinued to go from strength to strength. Tobler's dreamof worldwide sales has been fulfilled: 96 per cent ofToblerone production goes abroad. The 400-gram40INDO-SWISS BUSINESS + JAN-FEB 2008