Latest posts by Martin Moodie (see all)
- From Hong Kong to South Canterbury – A Global Gift of Support - April 29, 2025
- Mama don’t take my Toblerone (Dark) away - April 22, 2025
- Trail hiking and talking travel retail at the Hainan Expo - April 20, 2025
When I think back
On all the stuff I bought in duty free
It’s a wonder
I can still spend at all
And though my lack of restraint
May have cost me some
It sure beats shopping in the mall
Toblerone
They give us those nice bright colours
All the red and cream triangles
Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day
I got a Moodie Davitt camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don’t take my Toblerone (Dark) away
– Toblerone (with apologies to the genius Paul Simon and his song Kodachrome)
In good news for the legions of Toblerone-loving international travellers, the Mondelez-owned brand’s Dark Bar is to remain on the shelves of UK (and other) duty-free stores despite being discontinued in the UK local market, I can confirm.
Mondelēz International told several UK media titles, including the BBC, last week that its 360g dark chocolate bar would no longer be sold in the UK.
It attributed the discontinuation to “changing tastes” and growing its business.
However, Mondelez WTR Vice President of Special Businesses and Managing Director Joost Rosmuller told The Moodie Davitt Report that the perennial favourite will remain available in duty-free retail.
“We are not discontinuing the Toblerone Dark Bar in duty free; it is one of our top sellers and it will remain available for our travellers,” he said.
Bravo, Joost. Let’s not go messing around with a favourite variation of duty free’s most iconic product.
I sense a marketing opportunity here. Could World Duty Free stores and their UK travel retail peers (airside only) become like places of holy worship and destiny for Toblerone Dark lovers? The Lourdes of chocolate? They could recognise each other by a Freemason-esque secret sign subtly demonstrated here by The Moodie Davitt Report’s Martin Moodie and Dermot Davitt.
Can you imagine the multi-purchases that will take place among those shoppers, unable to fulfil their craving from the local Tesco?
Let’s take a Toblerone-loving Brit bound for Paris. The French value allowance is €430 (£370), which based on Toblerone Dark 360g’s current £8.99 price point at World Duty Free’s Heathrow Airport stores (two for £12.99) equals approximately 41 Toblerones.
I feel a ‘Buy 30 get 11 free’ offer coming on. Forget Chief Brody’s famous lines from Jaws, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” For World Duty Free CEO Fred Creighton it will be a case of “You’re gonna need a bigger basket.”
Or maybe the sheer scarcity of the product will drive the RRP to unimaginable heights, Toblerone Dark positioned alongside Louis XIII, Hennessy Paradise and other high-end items. Cross-category collaboration could be in store (literally). ‘Buy your Toblerone Dark 30g and get a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue free.’
My mangled version of Paul Simon’s Kodachrome (and the photo of Dermot and me above) first made their appearance on this Blog in April 2017, on the occasion of The Moodie Davitt Report’s 15th anniversary.
The song variation was inspired by our receipt of a personalised, Matterhorn-esque 4.5kg version of duty free’s most famous chocolate success story from Mondelēz World Travel Retail Managing Director Andreas Fehr (since sadly passed) and Mondelēz Global Sales Director World Travel Retail Jaya Singh (now retired).
Dermot and I were both about to catch a plane. How could we possibly fit this colossal Toblerone onboard, we wondered? But as you can see, we found a way. Expect many more passengers exiting Heathrow in the future to look just like us. ✈
If you took all the chocs I ate
When I was single
And stacked them all together for one night
I know they’d never match
The sweet triangle
Of the Toblerone, so great to bite
Toblerone
They give us those nice bright colours
All the red and cream triangles
Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day
I got a Moodie Davitt camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don’t take my Toblerone (dark) away
Mama don’t take my Toblerone (Dark) away
Mama don’t take my Toblerone away
Mama don’t take my Toblerone away
Mama don’t take my Toblerone
Mama don’t take my Toblerone
Mama don’t take my Toblerone away
Mama please don’t take my Toblerone (Dark) away