We don’t know about you, but one of our favorite things to do on vacation is visit the grocery store! Strange? Maybe! But it’s a great way to try local foods and drinks or save some money if you don’t want to eat out for every meal! Today we’re going to give you a mini crash-course on the popular grocery stores in Switzerland, local foods and drinks to try, and what you can expect to spend on typical picnic food or a take-out meal.
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If we haven’t met, we’re Jana and Brett, Aplins in the Alps, and our goal is to help you travel Switzerland with confidence! And that includes things like today’s topic of Swiss grocery stores.
So let’s jump right in with our biggest piece of advice: If you’re trying not to break the bank while still enjoying authentic food experiences, we recommend eating breakfast at your lodging, then eating out for one of your meals each day, and grabbing the other meal from the grocery store.
No, you don’t have to cook while you’re on vacation because there are some great take-away options and convenient picnic foods from Swiss grocery stores, which we’ll show you more later.
Swiss Grocery Stores
Let’s chat about the most popular stores: Coop and Migros.
You’ll usually find a small Coop or Migros in the train station with on-the-go food and drinks. But there are often bigger stores within a few blocks of the train station and in the touristy parts of town, so we’re going to focus on those 2 shops.
Other grocery stores in Switzerland include Volg, Aldi, Lidl, Denner, and Spar, and all of those tend to be cheaper options than Coop or Migros. So if you’re on a budget and see those stores nearby, they’re worth popping into.
Also, most but not all grocery stores are closed on Sundays. However, the ones inside the train station should be open on Sundays, so no worries if you’re traveling on a weekend.
Take-away Food from Swiss Grocery Stores
Alright, as a tourist, you’re out and about all day and if you’re like us, you’re probably going into the grocery store when you’re hungry. Good thing the take-away food is usually right in the front of the store.
Of course they have things like sandwiches and salads, but also pasta, lentils, couscous, veggies, fruits, and more. And sometimes there’s even a hot food area with things like pizza, chicken, and cheese pies. The bigger stores even have a take-and-bake section of pastas and pizzas too.
So here’s what we’re gonna do. I’m going to grab some of our favorite things from Migros and show you the price, then Brett’s going to get the same items from Coop and show you the price, that way you can compare similar items at both stores.
By the way, we’re going to pick the cheapest brands available, which are still good quality. But know that there are pretty much always more expensive options if you want an even better quality.
When we need something quick on the go, we usually grab a salami or ham sandwich, a berry smoothie, and a bag of chips.
- Migros Total = 6.20 CHF
- Salami sandwich = 3.25
- Smoothie = 1 CHF
- Chips = 1.95 CHF
- Coop Total = 8.20 CHF
- Salami sandwich = 4.95 CHF
- Smoothie = 1 CHF
- Chips = 2.25 CHF
Sometimes in the summer we want something more refreshing, so we grab a chicken Caesar salad, fresh fruit cup, and a vitamin water. Don’t forget that sometimes you have to pay extra for salad dressing.
- Migros total = 9.70 CHF
- Salad = 4.50 CHF
- Fruit = 2.95 CHF
- Vitamin water = 2.25 CHF
- Coop total = 12.85 CHF
- Salad = 6.80 CHF
- Fruit = 3.80 CHF
- Vitamin water = 2.25 CHF
And if we’re riding a train where we can sit down to eat, we grab the couscous salad, lentil salad, and potato salad to share.
- Migros total = 8.35 CHF
- Pasta salad = 2.20 CHF
- Lentil salad = 3.30 CHF
- Potato salad = 2.85 CHF
- Coop total = 9.35 CHF
- Couscous salad = 2.50 CHF
- Lentil salad = 3.95 CHF
- Potato salad = 2.90 CHF
By the way, you usually have to buy silverware, which is just a few cents. But our tip is to bring camping silverware with you, or buy the silverware once, wash it, and keep it in your backpack to save a few pennies. The same is true for grocery bags at checkout. Either pay 5 or 10 cents per bag and then reuse it, or just place the items right into your backpack.
So in general, Migros is a bit cheaper than Coop, but Coop tends to have more variety, especially when it comes to take-away food.
Coop and Migros Tours
Now it’s time for a little grocery store tour. I’m still in Migros because that’s actually the shop I prefer, but Brett’s still gonna show you comparable items and prices from Coop.
When we’re traveling, we honestly skip the produce section because we’re usually just grabbing the conveniently pre-washed and cut fruits and veggies from the take-away section. But the biggest thing you need to know is that you need to weigh the loose produce. I know in the US, the cashier weighs the fruits and veggies during checkout, but here you need to weigh it yourself before you checkout.
- First, pick a product. You can put it in a bag if you have multiple items.
- Then find the number on the label.
- Walk to the scale, place the items on top, then type in that number.
- The machine will print out a sticker which you put on your item or bag, and this is what will be scanned during checkout.
Next up is bread. We love that there’s a huge selection of fresh bread. All of it is good, but the butterzopf is super Swiss, and we personally like the Alpine bread too. We aren’t gluten-free, but there is a small section of gluten free breads too.
| Item | Migros | Coop |
| Butterzopf | 2.90 CHF (300g) | 3.95 CHF (500g) |
| Alpine bread | 2.80 CHF (380g) | 3.40 CHF (400g) |
Nearby is the breakfast area. Of course it has cereal and oatmeal and granola, but if you’re interested in a traditional Swiss breakfast option, drop some bircher muesli into your basket or shopping cart.
| Item | Migros | Coop |
| Bircher muesli | 4.95 CHF (1kg) | 2.40 CHF (1kg) |
Now let’s head to the dairy section. As you can imagine, the Swiss grocery stores have aisles upon aisles of cheese and yogurt and eggs and milk. We like to try a different cheese every week, and so far our favorites are any kind of aged bergkäse, which means mountain cheese. But Emmental, Gruyère, and Tilsiter are super popular, too. And if your Airbnb has a fondue or raclette machine, you can buy that kind of cheese here for way less than what you’d pay to eat either of those in a restaurant!
| Item | Migros (Price per 100g) | Coop (Price per 100g) |
| Bergkäse | 2.90 CHF | 2.55 CHF |
| Emmental | 1.35 CHF | 1.80 CHF |
| Gruyère | 2.20 CHF | 1.90 CHF |
| Tilsiter | 1.40 CHF | 1.65 CHF |
| Fondue | 2.39 CHF | 2.48 CHF |
| Raclette | 2.40 CHF | 2.63 CHF |
Before we go any further, I did want to mention that the word “aktion” means sale, so those products are discounted or sometimes bundled together for a better deal.
As for yogurt, they have the normal stuff as well as some really unique flavors, like elderberry flower. But this might just be the creamiest yogurt you’ve ever tasted in your life! Single-serve yogurts cost around 1 CHF a piece or for a two-pack, depending on the brand.
| Item | Migros | Coop |
| Vanilla yogurt (individual) | 0.65 CHF/2-pack | 0.65 CHF/2-pack |
| Elderberry flower yogurt (individual) | 1.60 CHF/2-pack | 2 CHF/2-pack |
Next is eggs. You might be surprised to see that they are not refrigerated. That’s because they aren’t sterilized and therefore you do need to wash them before you use them. Now the prices vary dramatically for eggs! The cheapest ones are imported, but Swiss eggs, and even organic eggs, are a lot more expensive. But as you can guess, the quality and color of the yolks are a lot better.
| Item | Migros | Coop |
| Cheap eggs x10 | 3.50 CHF | 3.95 CHF |
| Swiss eggs x10 | 4.95 CHF | 4.95 CHF |
| Organic eggs x 10 | 8.20 CHF | 8.20 CHF |
Like eggs, some of the milk isn’t refrigerated either. That’s because it’s processed differently, but it still tastes like milk. You can pick between a bottle or a carton, and personally we find the bottles much easier to pour.
| Item | Migros | Coop |
| Store brand milk (1L) | 1.65 CHF | 1.65 CHF |
| Bio milk (1L) | 1.90 CHF | 1.95 CHF |
And if you haven’t noticed this trend, the little ladybug means that the product is Swiss. And the Swiss are very loyal to their farmers, so you’ll see a lot of ladybugs in the store! And “bio” means organic!
I’m most curious to read your comments about the meat department. Because this is consistently the most expensive part of our grocery list. But as a tourist, unless you’re planning to grill out, you’re probably not buying meat from the grocery store on your vacation. Or you’re likely to just buy sausages or deli meat.
Don’t skip the cervelat, which are like the most popular Swiss sausages for grilling. We also like to buy landjager dried sausages for hiking. But if you’re looking to make something with chicken breasts or ground beef or pork chops, you’ll probably be surprised by these prices.
| Item | Migros | Coop |
| Cervelat | 1.92 CHF/2-pack | 2.30 CHF/2-pack |
| Landjager | 4.50 CHF/6-pack | 5.94/6-pack |
| Chicken breasts | 10.60 CHF/0.543 kg (19.50 CHF/kg) | 8.30 CHF/0.361g (23 CHF/kg) |
| Ground beef | 10.90 CHF/0.5 kg (21.80 CHF/kg) | 11.20 CHF/0.7g (15.90 CHF/kg) |
| Pork chops | 10.60 CHF/0.471 kg (22.50 CHF/kg) | 12.45 CHF/0.553g (22.50 CHF/kg) |
Like most grocery stores, there are canned goods, ethnic foods, and a frozen food section. But we’re sticking with the stuff you’ll be interested in as a tourist, so let’s move on to the snack aisle.
If you’re curious to try typical Swiss snacks, don’t skip Zweifel potato chips, Ovomaltine (which is like a crunchy nutella spread), and the Farmer granola bars. We pretty much always have these items in our pantry at home!
| Item | Migros | Coop |
| Zweifel plain chips | 5.95 CHF/280g | 5.95 CHF/280g |
| Ovomaltine | 4.95 CHF/400g | 4.90 CHF/400g |
| Granola bars | 4.60 CHF (8 bars) | 1.90 CHF (8 bars) |
And usually the chocolate aisle is close to the snacks. As you can imagine, there are endless choices and brands and types, and most of them are Swiss. We particularly like Ragusa, Torino, and Lindt. By the way, our friends and family think Swiss chocolate is always a great present, so we usually stock up on bars to take with us when we go home to visit! And chocolate is always cheaper from the grocery store than from the tourist shops, especially if you can find it on sale.
| Item | Migros | Coop |
| Ragusa | 2.65 CHF/bar | 2.65 CHF/bar |
| Torino | 2.65 CHF/bar | 2.65 CHF/bar |
| Lindt | 2.60 CHF/bar | 2.60 CHF/bar |
| Store brand milk chocolate | 0.70 CHF/100g | 0.70 CHF/100g |
Next is the drink aisle. First, notice that Migros doesn’t sell alcohol, but you can buy alcohol from Denner, which is another store that’s often next door. Brett likes Appenzeller, Rugenbräu, and Eichhof beers, but you’ll often find more regional and local options depending on where you visit. And some of the best Swiss wines are whites and roses from the Valais or from the Lavaux regions of Switzerland.
Rivella is the most popular Swiss soda you should try. And sirops are great too — they’re basically a juice concentrate that you dilute with bubbly water. Speaking of water, don’t buy regular water from the grocery store because it’s literally just as good straight out of the tap!
| Item | Migros | Coop |
| Rivella | 1.60 CHF/500mL | 1.60 CHF/500mL |
| Berry Sirop | 3.60 CHF/7.50mL | 3.60 CHF/7.50mL |
| Bubbly Water | 0.65 CHF/1L | 1.05 CHF/1L |
You can also pick up some basics like shampoo and toothpaste, laundry detergent, and cleaning supplies, diapers, and formula here too.
But when the grocery store just won’t cut it, read about some of our favorite foodie spots around the country, or shop our Swiss Itineraries which are chock full of our top restaurant recommendations. And we’ll see you in Switzerland!