Toblerone owner accuses small vegan chocolate brand of trademark infringement

Toblerone's latest battle against Catherine’s Originals O’bar comes after the budget chain Poundland was forced to delay the launch of its Twin Peaks bar in 2017

Catherine’s Originals' O'bar and Toblerone.  Mondelez said: 'The iconic Toblerone shape is one of the most recognised and distinctive product designs in the UK and across the world, and has been a hallmark of the brand since 1929.' 

The owner of Toblerone is taking legal action against a tiny British vegan chocolate brand that it claims has been copying the Swiss chocolate bar’s famous chunky shape.

Mondelēz has filed papers at the high court in London accusing Catherine’s Originals of “passing off” and trademark infringement with its O’bar — a length of chocolate divided into segments, each with a rounded semi-oval hump.

The 200g bars cost £9.20 (€10.88) for a milk or plain variety, and as much as £10.55 for more exotic flavours such as pumpkin spice or cinnamon swirl. A standard milk chocolate Toblerone can be bought for £2.50.

Catherine’s Originals, founded in 2021 by then-teenager Catherine Dodd, makes its chocolate in Walberton, Sussex, England, and sells it via markets, online, or by subscription.

Ms Dodd said the shape of her bars reflected an O for Originals. “We stand firmly behind the product and identity we’ve created,” she said.

“We strongly disagree with the claim concerning O’bar and are working with our legal team to defend our position. Honestly, it’s fairly frightening for a small business we’ve put so much care and hard work into building. 

But being a smaller business does not mean being afraid to stand up for what we’ve created.

The brand’s legal adviser, Stephen Lowry of Brandsmiths, added: “Our client disagrees with the claim and considers O’bar to have its own distinctive design and identity. We look forward to addressing the matter through the appropriate legal process.”

Mondelēz International, which also owns Britain’s Cadbury and Belgium’s Côte D’Or chocolate brands, said: “The iconic Toblerone shape is one of the most recognised and distinctive product designs in the UK and across the world, and has been a hallmark of the brand since 1929.

“We have a responsibility to protect our trademarks and intellectual property, which we take seriously. We have attempted to resolve this matter constructively and directly with Catherine’s Originals over several months but unfortunately have been unable to reach an agreement. We cannot comment further on ongoing legal matters.”

The latest battle over Toblerone comes after the budget chain Poundland was forced to delay the launch of its Twin Peaks bar in 2017, which had two humps rather than the single peaks of Toblerone, after a legal warning from Mondelēz.

The bar eventually relaunched after Poundland modified the colour of the packaging and the shape of the bar and is still on sale today.

Toblerone was forced to change its packaging in 2023 to remove the image of the Matterhorn mountain peak. That came after some of the chocolate bar’s production was moved outside Switzerland, falling foul of marketing restrictions relating to the use of Swiss iconography.

- The Guardian