Toblerone owner Mondelēz sues UK vegan maker over O'bar's segmented shape

The lawsuit

Mondelēz has filed papers at the High Court in London against Catherine's Originals, a small vegan chocolate brand based in Walberton, Sussex. The claim accuses the company of trademark infringement and "passing off" with its O'bar, a 200g bar divided into segments, each with a rounded, semi-oval hump. Mondelēz argues that this design copies the chunky shape of Toblerone. The brand makes its chocolate in Walberton and sells it through markets, online and by subscription. Mondelēz, which also owns Cadbury and Côte D'Or, said it had tried for several months to resolve the matter directly.

The brand's response

Catherine Dodd founded the company in 2021, when she was still a teenager, and she rejects the claim. She says the shape of the bars reflects an O for "Originals", the first word in the brand name. Her reply to the claim is direct.

“We strongly disagree with the claim concerning O'bar and are working with our legal team to defend our position.”

Dodd described the case as frightening for a small business that has put a great deal of care and effort into building it. The brand's legal adviser, Stephen Lowry of Brandsmiths, made a similar point about the bar's design.

“Our client disagrees with the claim and considers O'bar to have its own distinctive design and identity.”

Mondelēz's position

Mondelēz says the Toblerone shape is one of the most recognised product designs in the UK and worldwide, and it has been a hallmark of the brand since 1929.

“The iconic Toblerone shape is one of the most recognised and distinctive product designs in the UK and across the world…”

The company said it has a responsibility to protect its trademarks and intellectual property, and it declined to comment further on the ongoing legal matter. The shape was filed for a patent in Switzerland in 1909.

Toblerone's history and an earlier dispute

Toblerone was invented in Bern in 1908 by Theodor Tobler and Emil Baumann, and its name combines the inventor's surname with the Italian word for honey-almond nougat, torrone. The product passed to Kraft Foods in 1990 through the takeover of Jacobs Suchard, and that company now trades as Mondelēz. In 2017 Poundland had to delay the launch of its Twin Peaks bar, which had two humps rather than the single peaks of Toblerone, after a legal warning from Mondelēz.

Prices

The O'bar costs £9.20 for a milk or plain 200g bar and up to £10.55 for flavours such as pumpkin spice or cinnamon swirl. A standard milk chocolate Toblerone is priced at £2.50 in the same report, which puts the O'bar several times above the price of the larger brand's standard bar.

O'bar 200g, milk or plain9.2

O'bar 200g, exotic flavours (up to)10.55

Standard milk chocolate Toblerone2.5

O'bar 200g, milk or plain

9.2 GBP

O'bar 200g, exotic flavours (up to)

10.55 GBP

Standard milk chocolate Toblerone

2.5 GBP

Data from the article text