Swiss Export shopping

It is common for expats to develop quirks about favourite foods and other items from their home country. If you have ever lived abroad you know the feeling.

Strange shopping habits can be spotted before leaving home and returning to an expat destination. Our family calls it Export shopping: it results in a family shopping spree around the Coop (sometimes Migros) stacking the trolley with our favourite food which has now become our comfort food. 

These items cannot be found in the host country and may or may not have actually been part of the expats' lives in their home country but which given half a chance - and with some luck a car rather than a suitcase to fill - will undoubtedly be one of the highlights of being back home. 

A bottle of Ramseier Apfelsaft, a Branchli or a Ragusa, an Ovo crunchy spread or Champions Birchermuesli will make us feel just a little bit better when we get hit with homesickness or nostalgia. A glass of Dole Blanche or a moité-moité cheese fondue will certainly hit the spot. And nobody makes bouillon cubes like the Swiss. NeoCitran, a widely-used cold remedy, will do the job in case of sickness, and the earplugs that come in a pink box let me sleep through thick and thin. And don't get me started on the chocolate... cooking chocolate, white hot chocolate, dark powdered chocolate, marzipan chocolate tablets, nutty chocolate bars and chocolate pralines!

We LOOOVE the COOP!

Nor can we resist a Swiss bakery

Suntigszopf im Ussland

Familia Birchermüesli with Hirz Yoghurt... a champion's breakfast!

Le Chiacchiere di Carnevale... bring back sweet memories of Lugano

Ramseier or Rivella?

A typical Swiss Export shopping bag

Swiss love Christmas crafts

The DIY-happy Swiss like nothing better than to make their own Christmas presents, or to help their children make them. A Migros magazine survey from 2014 found that for 73 percent of Swiss present-making with the kids was a Christmas ritual.

Here are three 5 minute yarn crafts for Christmas that are fun, colourful and hassle-free to make with kids of all ages:

For a better healthier you! 5 a Day

We've all heard about the five portions of fruits and vegetables we are suppose to eat per day to stay healthy.

Here's a little help via "5 a Day", a national health promotion campaign aimed at boosting your fruit and vegetable consumption. The objective is better health and well-being for the population of Switzerland. "5 a Day" shows you how to increase your personal consumption of fruit and vegetables – variety with a lot of fun and pleasure.

Eat five portions of vegetables and fruit every day. This depends on how you feel and without having to weigh each portion.  A portion equals about a handful of vegetables or fruit. Here’s how to determine the appropriate portion:  For children, it’s 70 gr of vegetables or 100 gr of fruit.  For adults, it’s 102 gr of vegetables or fruit. How and when the portions are eaten during the day is not as important as the versatility in choice of vegetable and fruit varieties; because in each fruit and vegetable there are a range of substances that are good for our bodies. The more colourful, the better!

Need a little help, just check out their site: 5 a Day.
The site also gives you the info for every vegetable and fruit you can find at the market.
Looking for some kids friendly explanations, click here for the Nutrition Disk or the Food Pyramid.

There's even a logo "5 a Day" that provides helpful guidance when selecting vegetables and fruit enriched products.

FaMigros Ski Day at Bosco Gurin

Ready for a family ski race or a snowboarding competition? On March 8th, Migros is organising a family day at Bosco Gurin. After registering online, you can collect your race number between 09.00 to 10.00 at the "Village". The starting area will be at the Rossboda chairlift.

Whether on skis or snowboard, from three to five family members can participate. The process is very simple: there must be at least one parent-/ grandmother / grandfather, aunt / uncle or a godmother / godfather, a maximum of two adults and a child born in 2001 or younger, competing together. The time stops when the last team member crosses the finish line.

This fantastic experience on the snow only costs 110.00 CHF per family, for members of the "Famigros" and the "Swiss Ski" only 85.00 CHF. Daypass, race, lunch, medal and gift included.

Information and registration on www.famigros-ski-day.ch or directly at the counter of Vallemaggia Turismo, tel 091 753 18 85; info@vallemaggia.ch.

Venue: FaMigros Ski Day
Where: Bosco Gurin
When: Sunday, March 8th, 2015
Time: 9:00 collect race numbers, 10:30 race begins
Click here for the programme: http://www.famigros-ski-day.ch/Programma

Migros' Christmas song 2014: "Ensemble"

I have heard through the grapevine about Migros' Christmas charity song entitled "Ensemble" where 23 well-known Swiss artists, interpret the Christmas song for people in need.

Being typically Swiss the song is sung in the country's three official languages. Well, maybe I should correct that, Swiss German is after all a dialect but it does give it the distinctly Helvetic touch and make me feel right at home again.

The title “Ensemble” also expresses the motto of the Christmas fundraising sponsor of this year, the Swiss supermarket company Migros, “Celebrate together, Give together.” With this song Migros calls on the Swiss population to donate for people in need who live in their country.

For the video production of the song, “Ensemble” Migros has managed to bring together 23 famous Swiss artists, including well-known names of show-business as Noëmi Nadelmann, Pepe Lienhard, Sebalter, Pippo Pollina, Fabienne Louves. Among them is the legendary football coach Gilbert Gress, who in the video has a very special role. The song was composed by Roman Camenzind. For the filming of the video artists met in the magical setting of an Alpine hut. The video with an invitation to participate in the fundraiser will be broadcast for the first time as a television ad on Friday, November 21, 2014.

The amount donated will be distributed equally to four charities in Switzerland: Swiss Winter Relief , Heks, Caritas, and Pro Juventute. The money will be used to finance various projects. The money raised will be donated in equal parts (25%) of the four organizations mentioned. At the end of the collection, Migros will double the amount donated up to a maximum of CHF 1 million in total.

So, be aware and look out for the vouchers worth 5, 10 and 20 francs you can buy as of November 22nd for making donations. Money can also be donated by a payment to the account 30-620742-6 PC, by sending an SMS with the keyword “Migros” to the number 455, by downloading the Christmas song by ExLibris, iTunes or GooglePlay.

Click here and get a sneak première of the song "Ensemble" or learn more about the fundraiser on Mirgos' site: www.migros.ch/natale.

A compliment a day can go a long way...

Did you know that yesterday was World Compliment Day? Thanks to Newly Swissed I am now in the loop and have discovered the most uplifting video. You'll never guess who produced this real life campaign ... MIGROS! Trust the good ol' supermarket chain to come up with something like this. If something touches a Swiss' heart, it is either Coop or Migros.

Some think Swiss are cold and humourless, I (along with other Swiss bloggers) am here to prove the contrary. This commercial does more than simply promote a product. Apart from the main character Stefu, none of the people in the scenes were actors, and nothing was rehearsed. Stefu, a Swiss German youngster, takes a trip across Switzerland and brightens people's day by simply paying them a compliment.

Look carefully and you'll recognize some places in the Ticino... and don't forget, look someone in the eye today and pay them a compliment, no matter in which language!

 

This is the link to the French version: https://www.i-am.ch/it-ch/home/video-player.

A fun water battle

A little video I came across by the French supermarket chain Monoprix to start the week with a smile. Maybe Coop or Migros can find some inspiriation for their next advertising campaign.

Migros Quiz Mania online

Expanding on my Quiz Mania/WWF post you'll be happy to know that, as with the NanoMania, Migros offers the opportunity to play online: www.quizmania.ch.

For children, the questions kept simple - adults can test their knowledge in real time against other players in large online quiz and may reach the championship. Should you prefer to play with people you know, there is the possibility to set up a virtual playground for friends and relatives.

The website further provides information about all the activities planned around the Quiz Mania such as the “road shows” in larger Migros stores, barter exchanges dates and Joker days.

A Smartphone application ensures that you can answer trivia questions and learn interesting facts about the environment on the go.

The big WWF Quizbook “Pandalympia” promotes a sustainable lifestyle. This book contains tricky tasks for the whole family. It is sold in Migros stores for CHF 4.90. "Quiz Mania and Pandalympia prove that environmental education is not only important but can also be fun, " says Hans-Peter Fricker, CEO of WWF Switzerland. Whoever can find the correct answers to Pandalympia’s intriguing questions gets achance to one of over 300 prizes worth a total of CHF 100 000.-.

Good luck to you!

Migros launches Quiz Mania together with WWF

You have got to be kidding me?.....

Have you seen the Quiz Mania ads around town this week? A Migros ad even popped up on my facebook page, HELP!

Nope, I’m not kidding!!!

Migros has launched it’s next promotion and I’m thinking “Oh no, not again!” I’m praying that it won’t swoop the kids into its realm like it did with Nanomania. By the way, how many of you remembered after Easter to pick up their missing Joker Nanos with the stamped ticket you received when Mirgos went out of stock back in March? Hmmm?!? How many kids remembered?!? Just keep this in mind, for the next hurricane is about to hit us!

Beware everyone: during the next six week the Mania fever will spread across Switzerland!

Migros has teamed up with WWF (which can only be a good sign) to launch their 3rd campaign called QuizMania from May 10th to June 20th. Together they have developed a special version of the cult game "Trivial Pursuit". The board game questions revolve around the categories "Forest and Meadow, " "Mountains", "Air", "Sea", "Nutrition" and "The Human race". Simultaneously WWF is launching Pandalympia, a mystery book to commemorate WWF’s 50th anniversary.

The implementation is as the previous manias: with every purchase of CHF 20.- you receive a package of five quiz cards that have six questions and answers. Thanks to the knowledge of the WWF, you can look forward to a colorful and exciting range of questions. Overall, the game contains 200 cards: 100 for children (eight years and above) and cards 100 for adults. The compact game with a board, playing pieces, a dice and a starter set of 20 quiz cards is on sale at Migros stores for CHF 9.80. For every game sold one CHF is donated to the WWF projects in climate protection. Now, THAT makes me feel a wee bit better.

I am very happy to announce that 4 Joker days are planned. On 18 May, customers will receive double the number of cards. On 25th May you have to rise real early because with a purchase of CHF 60.- Migros offers a CD with WWF Birthday Song by “Schtärneföifi” and other children's songs by popular Swiss artists. (I will honestly run in Mirgos headquarter doors should they run out of stock on that day!!!!! Yes, I have already given in to the fact that I will not be able to manouver my way around Migros thanks to my persistant daughter). On June 1st and 8th customers receive (in exchange for a CHF 60.- purchase) wild cards, which will complete the game.

WWF have been given a great opportunity to publicize their 50th anniversary. Unfortunate that looking at the Quizmania packet closer: it is Made in China (child labor?) of cotton (organic?) with instructions (recycled / FSC). Somehow I get the feeling WWF got the shorter end of the deal?!?

Start by testing your WWF knowledge with this quiz. http://www.wwfblogs.org. I got 8 out of 10 answers correct. How about you?

Organic food in Switzerland

"We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons."
Alfred E. Newman

Switzerland lays great stress on environmentally friendly farming, although it involves greater costs.

The Swiss journal "Kultur und Politik" reported on organic farming starting in 1946. Organic food was sold directly to customers by post, to the cooperative Migros and to food-enterprises belonging to the Reform movement. During the 1960s organic-biological farming concepts spread from Switzerland to Austria and Germany.

Professional organizations concerned with extension, certification and marketing were established during the 1980's. There was an upsurge in the number of farms producing organic food in the 1990s. By 2009 some 11.1% of all farms had been awarded the organic symbol: a white bud in a green circle.

Organic farming is particularly popular in mountain areas. Figures issued by the Federal Statistical Office showed that in 2009 20% of mountain farms were organic. That year the Swiss spent 170 francs per head on organic produce, in particular vegetables, fruit and eggs.

Of all European countries Switzerland, along with Austria, has the highest proportion of usable land given over to organic farming.

In 1992 Switzerland announced that battery chicken farming was to be phased out - another world first. The addition of antibiotics to animal feed has been forbidden since 1998. Hormones are also banned. But such strict regulations put farmers under pressure when it comes to producing food at prices consumers are willing to pay.

You will find organic and natural foods products in every Swiss town. They are sold in most supermarkets and in some pharmacies. Some towns will have a natural foods store. Organic products are called "bio". The Coop stores have a selection of organic or "bio" products (called "Natura Plan"). Migros also offers bio products. You will find the bio products grouped together in each section.

Look for a "Reform Haus" sign; this means natural foods. If a  pharmacy has a sign saying "Reform Haus" or "Reform", they will have a small natural foods section.

For more detailed information go directly to the Swiss bio link here: http://www.bio-suisse.ch

The most enjoyable way to shop for healthy food, however, is to visit your local fresh food market. Most towns and villages have a weekly market selling local, seasonal farm produce, fresh fruit and vegetables and organic foods, as well as flowers. The Lugano market offers the typical food products of small farmers that sell their goods directly. It takes place every Tuesday and Friday from 8am to 12am in Piazza Riforma.

From March through June, there is a second market "contadino" at the Quartiere Maghetti of Lugano on Thursdays from 9am to 1pm selling fruit, vegetables, bread, cheese and meats from Ticino and the Grison. Check it out: www.quartieremaghetti.ch.

Following are 3 addresses of the best known Bio stores in Lugano:

Sapori Bio
salita M. e A. Chiattone 18 (behind downtown Manor)
6900 Lugano
Phone: 091 / 922 04 64

Müller Reformhaus Vital Shop AG
Quartiere Maghetti 10
6900 Lugano
Phone: 091 / 922 96 87

Bio Casa 5 Stelle SA
via Lugano 21
6982 Agno
Phone: 091 / 604 56 19

Nanomania's last chance!

Don't miss your very last chance to complete your child's Nano Collection. Migros have published an address where you can exchange up to 10 Nanos. Beware the magic ends on March 29th, 2011 or so they say?!?

In this week's Migros magazine they published a page explaining how to obtain the missing Nanos from your collection - including the jokers. You send in your doubles to exchange them for the missing ones. Joker Nanos (Luxibus, DJ, Gold one) will "cost" you 3 of your doubles. Regular Nanos are a straight exchange. Unfortunately the first Wedenesday joker, the rocket, is only available at the roadshows.

So, get your duplicates together, put them in an envelope and add a list of your missing Nanos. Make sure you include a stamped and addressed return envelope for Migros to send back to you.

The magic address is:
Tit pit GmbH
NanoMania
Allmendsstrasse 8
8320 Fehraltorf

(I'm sure happy I don't work at Tit pit for the coming week.)

You also might want to stop online at www.ricardo.ch where many people are selling them. Good luck!

Supermarket chains in and around Lugano

The Swiss food retail market, worth CHF45bn, has long been dominated by Swiss supermarket multiples Migros and Coop. However, Switzerland’s supermarket landscape is shifting, with Coop nudging ahead of its only rival Migros for the first time. Coop together with Migros account for about 70 per cent of the market share for food and drinks in Switzerland.

The arrival of the German budget retailers Aldi and Lidl – in 2005 and 2009 respectively – “shook up” the Swiss food business. Coop and Migros reacted by introducing cheap and premium lines.

At Coop you'll spot products with the logos "Coop Qualité et Prix" and pink label "Prix Garantie".  Migros has its "M-Budget" brand, which can be recognized by the green-white packaging and the orange Migros logo.

"Coop-at-home" and "Migros Le Shop" also offer an online service, although I have not tested it myself and therefore cannot guarantee for its effectiveness.

Hereafter you'll find a list of the five biggest supermarket chains in Ticino.
Coop: http://www.coop.ch/
Migros: http://www.migros.ch/it
Manor: http://www.manor.ch/
Denner: http://www.denner.ch/it/
Aldi: http://www.aldi-suisse.ch/index_ITA_HTML.htm

The Italian supermarket Bennet just across the border in Italy (Via Asiago 40, 22100 Como) is worth shopping for typical Italian products like Parmeggiano cheese, Mozzarella, Focaccia, Barilla pasta, Kinder brioche. Don't forget to take a break and enjoy a real cup of Cappuccino. I don't know how the Italians do it but their coffee just tastes so much better even if it is only 15 minutes down the road from Lugano.


Happy Shopping!!!

Nanomania continues online

We have finally come to an end of the Naomania follie at Migros and my daughter has not even bothered to take them to school anymore stating that no one else is bringing them either, therefore she cannot swap hers. Is it really all over with one single woshhhhhhhhh?!?

Migros hit the last straw when the largest store in Lugano completely run out of Nanos a week before the promotion ended. Back from our skiing vacation my daughter dragged me straight to Migros to stock up our fridge and receive some last Nanos missing from her collection. Arrived at the cash register the lady very kindly told us to get lost (more or less) when we asked for our 10 well-deserved Nanos!!!!! She seemed happier about the end of the Nanomania promotion than alot of the mummies I have seen.

BUT alas...................it is not all over yet.

Having logged on to www.ricardo.ch, Switzerland's local version of e-bay, there are 6244 Nano offers while I am writing this post!!!! The special edition "Luxibus" is going for CHF 32.- with 84 bids, please someone pinch me fast!

If Coop had its act together this would be the PERFECT moment to launch a counter attack........

Migros Nanomania getting out of hand?

So this Nanomania might blow up in Migros' face after all.

My local ladies sources (one of whom works as a cashier at Migros) are telling me that mums, aunts and grandparents are fighting over these little rascals at the cash register. To make matters worse, Migros is running out of stock on Special Edition day - which by the way is on a Wednesday when the kids are off school in the afternoon and accompany their mothers shopping. They are handing out prestamped leaflets asking you to come back in two months' (!) time to pick up the Nano. Please tell me that by May nobody will care anymore about these beans!!!!

Due to last week's out-of-stock, this morning apparently the Migros parking lots where taken by assault and the rush for the Special Edition Nano started at 8 am with mothers screaming and shouting at each other in order to get passed the register first. Ladies, where has you Swiss chivarly gone?

Migros will have to react fast or else there sales strategy will make them even more unpopular with desperate mums than they already are at this point in time!!!

Who invented Migros Nanomania

In one of my earlier posts (Nanomania in Switzeland), I did promise to find out who invented the absurd but highly effective Migos marketing Nanomania lure.

Migros admits it has taken the idea from the United States where the Nanos are called Mighty Beanz.

Mighty Beanz are collectible toys manufactured by Moose Enterprises, a corporation headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. Mr Stul took over the Moose business with his partner, joint owner and the company's director of product development, Jacqui Tobias in 2000. Moose had seven employees when the pair took over and had an annual turnover of $10 million. Is a great Victorian business success story, having done what few toy companies in Australia have been able to achieve - it has taken its quirky and inventive toy creations to the rest of the world and in doing so has quadrupled its annual sales to $43 million in three years. Moose services 42 countries these days, with half its export revenues generated in what is generally considered the toughest toy market in the world, the US. Moose does all its design and development work locally, but like almost all toy makers these days, it manufactures its products in China.

Moose's breakthrough toy is Mighty Beanz, which Mr Stul describes as a collectable version of Mexican jumping beans. "The secret there was that we made them collectable and gave them endearing character designs," he says.

Moose launched Mighty Beanz in the Australian market in 2002 and the toy launched in the United States that summer. Besides the five main series of Mighty Beanz, Moose also produced licensed Beanz based on Marvel superheroes, The Simpsons, Pokémon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. So just you wait for Migros next marketing wave with Superman and Bart Simpsons, we'll have to fight our way into the Migros stores!!!!

Mighty Beanz have become a large collector's commodity and prices vary on sites such as Ebay based on rarity of the Beanz. The highest rate at the moment is US 770.00 for a complete set from 2004. (This still doesn't cover my cost of CHF 960.- spent in Migros to receive 48 Nanos)

Just wait until they launch the Special Edition Beanz: G-Force Bean, Crash Test Dummy Bean, Genie Bean, Daredevil Bean, Computer Bean, Skeleton Bean and Hollywood Stunt Bean or Space Moose Bean.

If you are still curious about the Mighty Beanz click here.

2 important events not to miss in Lugano today!

Take your Nanos for a walk!

Nanomania is on the rise throughout the Ticino and the rest of Switzerland. Don't miss the Nanomania roadshow where all the Nanos meet up to play and to be swapped.

Where: MR Migros Lugano Città
When: Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
Time: 14.00 - 17.00

Join the International Women's Club of Lugano for dinner

The evening group of the International Women’s Club of Lugano ( IWCL - www.iwcl.org ) has been set up for International people living in Ticino willing to get together in a friendly and casual atmosphere. Partners and friends are welcome.

Sandrine has designed a flexible format, so you can choose to have a single course, a full menu or just a drink!

Where: Ristorante Soave 10, Via Soave 10, 6900 Lugano - Tel. 091 922 01 70 (www.soave10.ch)

When: Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

Time: 19.30

Nanomania in Switzerland

If you live in Switzerland and have kids the last thing you probably want to read about is Nanomania!

A short intro for those of you who have managed to avoid the craze:
Migros (one of the 2 main Swiss supermarket chains) comes up with some marketing plot (because you CANNOT call it plan anymore) about twice a year to entice your kids whom will in turn insist on you shopping at Migros in order to receive the prize (a Nano plastic bean) with every 20 Francs you spend. When the fidelity plan was about Ocean animal stickers or old-fashion marbles, we Mummies could see the point of changing our shopping rituals to suit our childrens wishes, but this time Migros have outdone themselves. I still need to research who is behind this piece of genuis marketing of Migros but there is not a Primary school child in this country who isn't hooked on this perfectly designed choking devise called Nanos. i-Tunes even have an i-phone application for Nanomania and a Nanomania facebook page has been set up as well!

Expat Girl just marched in through the door as I am writing shouting: "Mummy, Mummy, pleeeeasse can we go shopping at Migros?"

Just to throw a spanner in the works, for the uninformed (under pressure from their kids), there is a "must-have" metal collection box available at CHF 9.80.

It is not enough that Luganese housewives have to discuss the Coop vs Migros weekly promotions, now we have the kids informing their Mums about the Migros promotions!!!!
Every Wednesday is "Joker" day - when a special Nano gadget is only available on this day - for minimum purchase of CHF 60 (clever Migros!).

You can catch the road show as well: MR Lugano Città on Wednesday, February23rd, 2011 from 2 to 5pm for exchanging Nanos. I am NOT sharing that piece of infomation with my daughter!!!!

Get this: my additional expenditure at Migros - where I usually do NOT spend a cent - would be 48 nanos x 20 francs = 960 francs for the love of my kids!!!! And it all ends mid-March!!!
My question: how am I suppose to spend nearly 1000 francs in one month in Migros?!?

Somebody help and send me those bl---y Nanos!!!!