Theodor Tobler

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Theodor Tobler (born January 24, 1876 in Bern ; † May 4, 1941 there ) was a Swiss entrepreneur . He became known as the inventor of Toblerone chocolate.

Life

Theodor Tobler grew up as the son of the chocolatier Jean Tobler in the back Länggasse in Bern. In 1885 the nine-year-old came to the Lerberschule, which was mainly attended by members of the higher classes. Theodor failed to integrate and experienced the injustice of the class differences.

At the age of 16 he left school prematurely, worked as a commercial intern in a Geneva wine shop and then in a church candle factory in Venice . Together with his father, who opened a chocolate shop in Bern in 1867, he founded a chocolate factory ( Tobler & Cie. ) In 1899. Tobler liked himself as an innovative, dynamic and risk-taking entrepreneur, giving lectures and published articles about his work.

The Toblerone

When his production manager brought back a combination of nougat , honey , sugar and almonds that was still unknown to Tobler from a trip to France , this prompted Tobler and his cousin Emil Baumann to conduct a series of experiments with these ingredients until he came up with a unique combination of chocolate and created nougat. He gave her the name Toblerone , a combination of words from his surname Tobler and Torrone, the name of the candy that his product manager had given him. Various legends entwine around the origin of the triangular shape. Accordingly, the Matterhorn is said to have inspired Tobler. In other versions, dancers piled into a pyramid are the model for the Toblerone or the triangle as a Masonic symbol. The shape of the Toblerone is probably based on packaging that already existed in 1908: Daniel Peter ’s product Delta Peter was on the market, a milk chocolate powder in triangular packaging. The points of the Toblerone were particularly innovative.

In 1909 Tobler received a patent for the manufacturing process of his new development. It was the first chocolate to contain honey and almonds. The Toblerone later developed into the workhorse in Tobler's range. Demand rose steadily and Tobler expanded into the European market, benefiting from the dismantling of customs barriers. His willingness to take risks made his company grow rapidly, but also made enemies within his own ranks.

Resignation as head of the company

The global economic crisis finally caused Tobler's risk strategy to fail. In 1933, under pressure from the banks, he had to resign as director of the chocolate company. In 1934 Tobler appeared as a witness at the Zionist trial in Bern . As a man who defined himself through his factory, Tobler did not recover from the blow he had suffered from his involuntary departure from Chocolat Tobler until his death in 1941.

Fonts

  • Cocoa, chocolate and the Swiss chocolate industry. Excerpts from a lecture given [...] in the lap of the Bern Association for Trade and Industry, Bern 1914.
  • Cocoa, the Swiss chocolate industry and its distribution abroad, Bern 1917.
  • The problem of unemployment and unemployment welfare, Bern 1922.
  • Working hours and wages, Bern 1924.
  • Building blocks for a new world. Masonic speeches and thoughts, Bern-Leipzig 1926.
  • Production and Economy in the Sign of a New Age, Bern 1926.
  • Economic philosophy, Leipzig 1926.
  • Raw cocoa and the Swiss chocolate industry, Bern 1928.
  • 32 years of industrial work. A cross-section through the development of the Tobler company, Bern 1935.

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Tobler, Theodor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH January 24, 1876
PLACE OF BIRTH Bern
DATE OF DEATH May 4, 1941
Place of death Bern