Toblerone Owner Takes Vegan Chocolate Maker to London Court Over Bar Shape

Mondelēz International, which owns Toblerone, has filed papers at the High Court in London accusing Catherine's Originals, a British vegan chocolate brand, of passing off and trademark infringement over its O'bar, according to The Guardian.

Passing off is a legal claim that one business presents its goods as those of another. Trademark infringement is the unauthorised use of a protected brand mark, such as a logo, name or distinctive design. The High Court is the senior civil court in England and Wales. Mondelēz also owns Britain's Cadbury brand.

Toblerone is a Swiss chocolate known for its triangular shape. Mondelēz states that the shape has been a hallmark of the brand since 1929.

The O'bar is a length of chocolate divided into segments, each with a rounded, semi-oval hump. Catherine's Originals was founded by Catherine Dodd in 2021 and makes its chocolate in Walberton, in Sussex, England. It sells the bars at markets, online and by subscription. Dodd has said the shape of her bars reflects an O for Originals.

The company has offered similar products before. In 2024, Catherine's Originals launched a vegan triangle chocolate bar reminiscent of a Toblerone.

Mondelēz has pursued shape disputes in the British market before. In 2017, Poundland delayed the launch of its Twin Peaks bar after a legal warning from Mondelēz. The bar later went on sale again after Poundland changed the colour of its packaging and the shape of the bar.

Mondelēz said it tried to resolve the dispute with Catherine's Originals constructively over several months, but the two sides were unable to reach an agreement.