With this, Migros is further expanding its already thirty-year cooperation with Bio Suisse, the largest organization for organic farming in Switzerland. The new organic label will apply exclusively to products of Swiss origin.
The switch to this Bio Suisse label means that Swiss organic products from Migros will now be marked with the so-called "Knospe" label, the well-known certification of Bio Suisse. Previously, Migros used its own organic label, but by introducing the Knospe label, a stronger emphasis is placed on the origin and sustainability of the products.
In an interview with “Schweizer Bauer” in March this year, Migros CEO Mario Irminger said that Migros needed to get closer to agriculture.
To realize this new local eco-label, significant changes in the cultivation and production of agricultural products, such as sugar beets, are necessary. Migros and Bio Suisse are working together on expanding agricultural land for organic farming.
Imported and foreign-produced products bearing the current Migros Bio brand will continue to meet the EU organic standard at minimum. However, these imports are not certified with the Bio Suisse Bud nor labeled with the Bud logo.
This means Migros offers its Swiss customers a more varied organic range that covers multiple price segments, it is said. Bio Suisse also praises the move: "We are glad that we can intensify an already very good cooperation and thus sustainably strengthen Swiss organic farming," says Balz Strasser, general director of Bio Suisse, in the Migros announcement.
“In addition, Migros will support Swiss organic farmers in promoting domestic production and provide financial resources for this,” Migros writes. The exact amount of these funds is not specified in the statement. “Migros has reserved a high six-figure sum to promote Swiss organic farming,” a spokeswoman told the Swiss news agency sda.