T _ B _ E _ O _E : Don’t Ask Chocolate Lovers To Fill in the gaps
Last November, Mondelez International, owner of the Toblerone brand, decided to reduce the weight of its famous chocolate bars in the UK. The 400-gram bar dropped to 360 grams, and the 170-gram to 150.
So far, so good. It’s common practice in the food industry to cut product weight when the cost of basic ingredients goes up as a way of keeping the same sales price.
The Failure :
When Toblerone UK then took the surprising step of increasing the space between the triangles, which represent Switzerland’s Mont Cervin, reactions were swift and negative. TOBLERONE now reads T_ B _E _O_ E.
With all these gaps, Toblerone lovers no longer recognized their chocolate bar. Many wondered why Toblerone didn’t simply shorten the bar so it looked the same as before.
The Moral :
Mondelez decided to tinker with the Toblerone brand’s DNA: its distinctive signature triangles. They compromised product integrity and Toblerone lovers felt betrayed. You have to be very careful when it comes to altering a brand’s differentiator and promise – that which makes it recognizable and distinctive – the backlash can be very harsh.
Image Source : Toblerone
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