The Swiss branch of the cooperative supermarket chain Migros is to introduce its own bio label for Swiss sustainable and organic products and foodstuffs.
Migros will further expand its thirty-year partnership with Bio Suisse, the largest organisation 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 Migros' Swiss organic products will now be provided with the so-called "Knospe" label, the well-known seal of approval of Bio Suisse. Migros previously used its own organic label, but with the introduction of the Knospe label, greater emphasis is placed on the origin and sustainability of the products.
In an interview with “Schweizer Bauer” in March this year, Migros boss Mario Irminger said that Migros had to get closer to agriculture.
In order to achieve this new local eco-label, significant changes are needed in the cultivation and production of agricultural products, such as sugar beets. Migros and Bio Suisse are working on expanding agricultural land for organic cultivation, among other things.
Imported and foreign-produced products under the current Migros Bio brand continue to meet at least the organic EU standard. However, these imports are not certified with the Bio Suisse Bud or labeled with the Bud logo.
This means that Migros is offering its Swiss customers a more diverse organic range that covers multiple price segments, it is said. Bio Suisse also praises the move: “We are pleased to be able to intensify our already very good cooperation and thus sustainably strengthen Swiss organic farming,” says Balz Strasser, CEO 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 purpose,” Migros writes. The exact amount of these funds is not clear from the statement. “Migros has set aside a high six-figure sum to promote Swiss organic farming,” a spokeswoman told the Swiss news agency sda.