Ubiquitous in airport duty-free shops the world over and iconoclastically triangular in the rectangular chocolate universe, Toblerone is more than just another world-beating Swiss brand.
The chocolate is a triumph of marketing. The distinctiveness of the shape, which represents the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps, plays a huge role in consumer perception of the confection as a unique and premium treat. The packaging is an appealing palette of colours: scarlet and gold lettering on a vanilla-yellow background.
The milk, nougat, honey and almond bar was created by Theodor Tobler and Emil Baumann in 1907. The product's name comes from a combination of Tobler with the Italian word torrone (a type of nougat).
All Toblerone products are made at the company's plant in Bern, in the far north of the country, from where 90 per cent of the output is
exported to 110 countries, with airport duty-free shops being the product's No1 outlet by a considerable margin.
Arriving back from a holiday in Japan, Lantau International School student Keisuke Kawawada grins as he clasps a 200g bar of Toblerone.
'By the time the sugar rush hits, I hope he'll be on his skateboard,' his mother, Yuko Kawawada, said with a weary smile.