London: The owner of Toblerone, Mondelēz International, has launched legal action against a small British vegan chocolate maker, alleging that its product imitates the Swiss chocolate brand’s distinctive shape.
Mondelēz has filed a claim at the High Court in London against Catherine’s Originals, accusing the company of ‘passing off’ and trademark infringement over its O’bar chocolate. The product is divided into segments featuring rounded, semi-oval humps, which Mondelēz claims resemble Toblerone’s recognisable design.
Catherine’s Originals sells its 200g O’bar in milk and plain chocolate varieties for £9.20, while speciality flavours, including pumpkin spice and cinnamon swirl, cost up to £10.55. In comparison, a standard milk chocolate Toblerone bar costs around £2.50.
Founded in 2021 by Catherine Dodd, who was a teenager at the time, the vegan chocolate business produces its bars in Walberton, Sussex. Its products are sold through markets, online orders and subscriptions.
Dodd said the shape of the O’bar was inspired by the letter “O” in the company’s name. She said the business stood by its product and identity and strongly disagreed with the allegations.
Describing the legal dispute as frightening for a small business, Dodd said the company was working with its legal team to defend its position. She added that being a smaller business should not prevent it from protecting what it had created.
Stephen Lowry, legal adviser to Catherine’s Originals at Brandsmiths, said the company believed the O’bar had a distinctive design and identity. He added that it intended to address the allegations through the appropriate legal process.
Mondelēz noted that Toblerone’s shape had been a defining feature of the brand since 1929 and remained one of the most recognisable product designs in the UK and worldwide. The company added that it took its trademark and intellectual property rights seriously and had spent several months attempting to resolve the dispute directly with Catherine’s Originals, without reaching an agreement.
The case follows an earlier legal dispute involving Toblerone and discount retailer Poundland in 2017. Mondelēz challenged Poundland’s Twin Peaks chocolate bar, which featured two raised sections resembling Toblerone’s triangular peaks.
Poundland initially delayed the product’s launch following a legal warning. The bar later returned to sale after changes were made to its packaging colour and shape.
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