BERN, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 10, 2025--
Mondelēz International (Nasdaq: MDLZ) has today announced a significant investment of ~ 65 million swiss francs in its Toblerone manufacturing facility in Switzerland. With this investment, the company is creating a global centre of excellence for Toblerone in Bern (Switzerland)from where the brand and chocolate expertise is exported all over the world. The investment is a clear commitment to the location where this traditional brand was founded back in 1908 and where around 90 percent of Toblerone products sold worldwide are manufactured today. The investment in Bern underlines Toblerone's growth ambitions in the chocolate premium segment, building on its global awareness, uniqueness and leading position in world travel retail.
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A state-of-the-art production line scheduled to go into operation in autumn 2025 is about to be installed in our Bern manufacturing facility, to expand capacity following growing demand for premium chocolate. Alongside the new line, Mondelēz is also upscaling its chocolate and nougat making facility, upgrading the site infrastructure and logistics.
Thanks to this investment, Bern will become the “Center of Excellence” for Toblerone, from where the brand and its chocolate expertise is exported all over the world. It is one of the most important investments within Mondelēz International's chocolate European production network in the last 10 years.
As part of Mondelēz’s ambition to become the number one player in Chocolate by 2030, our iconic 117-year-old brand Toblerone is poised to grow globally within the premium segment, leveraging its strong global awareness, uniqueness, and leadership in World Travel Retail business.
The investment is both an expression of the traditional brand's growth ambitions and a clear commitment to Bern as the home and heart of the production, where Toblerone was founded in 1908 and where around 90 percent of its products sold worldwide are produced. As a testimony to this rich heritage, the Swiss flag will soon adorn the packaging of the Toblerone tablets that are manufactured in Bern – to emphasize where the chocolate is made.
“Toblerone is one of the most famous chocolate brands in the world with tremendous potential,” said Iain Livingston, President, Toblerone & World Travel Retail. “Our center of excellence in Switzerland, from where we proudly bring our brand and chocolate expertise around the world, is key to the brand's growth ambition to win in the premium segment.”
Tim Spickenbaum, Director of the production facility in Bern, adds: “Our plant has been a cornerstone of the Toblerone production for decades. Already today we manufacture on average 4 million Toblerone products per production day. We are therefore delighted about the planned modernizations and investments, which will not only enhance our manufacturing capacity but also solidify Bern's position as the home and heart of the triangular brand icon.”
Toblerone Fast Facts: Did You Know?
Further photos accompanying this announcementare available at:link.
Toberlone Factory - Bern, Switzerland - Marco Blessano
McALLEN, Texas (AP) — The South Texas home of Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket company is on its way to becoming an official city with a galactic name: Starbase.
A vote Saturday to formally organize Starbase as a city was being approved by a lopsided margin by a small group of voters who live there and are mostly Musk’s employees at SpaceX.
Starbase is the facility and launch site for the SpaceX rocket program that is under contract with the Department of Defense and NASA that hopes to send astronauts back to the moon and someday to Mars.
Musk first floated the idea of Starbase in 2021 and approval of the new city was all but certain. Of the 283 eligible voters in the area, most are believed to be Starbase workers.
The election victory was personal for Musk. The billionaire’s popularity has diminished since he became the chain-saw-wielding public face of President Donald Trump’s federal job and spending cuts, and profits at his Tesla car company have plummeted.
SpaceX has generally drawn widespread support from local officials for its jobs and investment in the area.
But the creation of an official company town has also drawn critics who worry it will expand Musk’s personal control over the area, with potential authority to close a popular beach and state park for launches.
Companion efforts to the city vote include bills in the state Legislature to shift that authority from the county to the new town’s mayor and city council.
All these measures come as SpaceX is asking federal authorities for permission to increase the number of South Texas launches from five to 25 a year.
The city at the southern tip of Texas near the Mexico border is only about 1.5 square miles (3.9 square kilometers), crisscrossed by a few roads and dappled with airstream trailers and modest midcentury homes.
SpaceX officials have said little about exactly why they to want a company town and did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
“We need the ability to grow Starbase as a community,” Starbase General Manager Kathryn Lueders wrote to local officials in 2024 with the request to get the city issue on the ballot.
The letter said the company already manages roads and utilities, as well as “the provisions of schooling and medical care” for those living on the property.
SpaceX officials have told lawmakers that granting the city authority to close the beach would streamline launch operations. SpaceX rocket launches and engine tests, and even just moving certain equipment around the launch base requires the closure of a local highway and access to Boca Chica State Park and Boca Chica Beach.
Critics say beach closure authority should stay with the county government, which represents a broader population that uses the beach and park. Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino, Jr. has said the county has worked well with SpaceX and there is no need for change.
Another proposed bill would make it a Class B misdemeanor with up to 180 days in jail if someone doesn’t comply with an order to evacuate the beach.
The South Texas Environmental Justice Network, which has organized protests against the city vote and the beach access issue, plan to hold another protest Saturday night as the polls close.
Voting signs are posted Saturday, May 3, 2025, outside a polling station in the town of Boca Chica, Texas, that would become Starbase, Texas, if local residents approve a measure to make the home of Elon Musk's SpaceX its own city. (AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez)
Voting signs are posted Saturday, May 3, 2025, outside a polling station in the town of Boca Chica, Texas, that would become Starbase, Texas, if local residents approve a measure to make the home of Elon Musk's SpaceX its own city. (AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez)
Voting signs are posted Saturday, May 3, 2025, outside a polling station in the town of Boca Chica, Texas, that would become Starbase, Texas, if local residents approve a measure to make the home of Elon Musk's SpaceX its own city. (AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez)
People enter a polling station in the town of of Boca Chica, Texas, that would become Starbase, Texas, if local residents approve a measure to make the home of Elon Musk's SpaceX its own city on Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez)
A man with Proposed new name for the town on his T-shirt is seen in Boca Chica, Texas, that would become Starbase, Texas, if local residents approve a measure to make the area surrounding the rocket launch site its own city. (AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez)
A statue of SpaceX founder Elon Musk on Saturday, May 3, 2025, is seen near the town of Boca Chica, Texas, that would become Starbase, Texas, if local residents approve a measure to make the area surrounding the rocket launch site its own city. (AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez)
FILE - A visitor photographs a large bust of Elon Musk near SpaceX's Starbase as the Starship is prepared for a test flight in Boca Chica, Texas, March 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
