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FOOD AND DRINK

REVEALED: Which city has Switzerland’s cheapest beer?

Anyone looking for a cheap pint in Switzerland is likely to struggle no matter where they are, but there are still good deals to be had for a cold, frosty one.

Published: 18 May 2022 16:11 CEST
Beer as close as you can get without your eyes getting wet. Photo by Timothy Dykes on Unsplash
Beer as close as you can get without your eyes getting wet. Photo by Timothy Dykes on Unsplash

Some research carried out in Switzerland is more important to consumers than others.  

This one definitely fits under the ‘news you can use’ category.

A recent survey conducted by consumer website Hellosafe compared the price of a half a litre of beer in 29 cities in different cantons.

The prices come from 2022 and have incorporated recent spikes in cost for beer producers. 

READ MORE: Seven beers to try in Switzerland

Where is Switzerland’s cheapest beer? 

The study found that one of the cheapest pints, at 5.22 francs, can be had in Aarau, followed by Bern  (5.92).

While it is one of the world’s most expensive cities, a big mug of beer in Zurich costs “only”  6.96 francs, four cents less than in another relatively inexpensive location, the Valais capital of Sion.

Where is Switzerland’s most expensive pint of beer? 

Beer lovers in the west of Switzerland would be better off sticking to wine, with French-speaking Switzerland charging the most when it comes to beer anywhere in the country. 

The priciest half-litres are in Geneva (7.72 francs) and Lausanne (7.96).

Reader question: Can you drink in public in Switzerland?

Next on the list are Basel and Davos, which may appear to have very little in common with each other besides beer costing CHF7.03 per pint. 


What does the future hold? 

The study also looked ahead at how the war in Ukraine is likely to increase the cost of cereals used to manufacture beer, impacting the price of the end product.

Grain prices in Switzerland are expected to rise by 4 percent per tonne by the end of 2022, which will see price increases in several parts of the country. 

Accordingly, the price of a pint in Lausanne could increase by 32 cents and reach CHF 8.28. 

If Hellosafe’s estimates are correct, then the price of beer will increase the least in Olten, Langenthal, Chur and Arbon.

Beer in Switzerland

While Switzerland may be known internationally more for wine, beer has seen a strong surge in interest in recent years – particularly since the pandemic. 

Switzerland now boasts the highest density of breweries anywhere in Europe, with the Covid crisis a major factor in transforming the country into a beer hub. 

READ MORE: How the Covid crisis led to a boom in Swiss beer production

In 2020, 80 new breweries were established in Switzerland. 

Switzerland now has 1,212 breweries – which gives it a higher ratio of breweries to people than any of the other big brewing nations in Europe, including Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Belgium. 

Just ten years ago, Switzerland had only 246 breweries, while in 1990 there were only 32 breweries in the entire country, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung reports. 

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SHOPPING

REVEALED : Are ‘discount’ supermarkets in Switzerland really cheaper?

Lidl, Aldi and Denner claim their prices beat those of large Swiss retailers. But is this really the case?

Published: 18 April 2024 11:40 CEST
REVEALED : Are ‘discount’ supermarkets in Switzerland really cheaper?

Common consumer goods (except one) are typically more expensive in Switzerland than in neighbour countries — sometimes by much.

This includes food.

READ ALSO: Why Switzerland is the most expensive country in Europe

That is especially the case of largest Swiss chains, Migros and Coop, while Denner, Lidl, and Aldi say their food prices are significantly lower.

To find out whether this claim is actually true, journalists from RTS public broadcaster’s consumer programme went shopping in each of these supermarkets. 

They purchased the same 30 products in each of the five supermarkets on the same day, to ensure that the price comparison is as accurate as possible.

Not what you’d expect

In each of the stores, the investigators purchased only the lowest priced items from the supermarkets’ budget lines.

It turned out that most money was spent at Denner, widely considered to be one of the lowest-priced supermarkets.

The total for the 30 items came to 181.67 francs — more than was spent at the country’s more expensive stores, Migros and Coop, where identical basket of goods cost 170.37 and 167.82 francs, respectively.

(That, in itself, is surprising as well, because Migros typically has lower prices than Coop).

As for the other two supermarkets, these purchases cost 166.59 francs at Aldi and 162.05 at Lidl.

So the difference in price between Migros and Coop versus Aldi and Lidl is minimal. But what is even more surprising is that the cost of groceries at ‘cheap’ Denner is actually highest of the lot, by between 11 and nearly 20 francs.

Migros and Coop performed quite well in the comparison survey because most of the items purchased in those stores came from their budget lines, M-Budget and Prix-Garantie, respectively, both of which were introduced to compete with Aldi and Lidl.

But how important is price? Patrick Krauskopf, a professor of anti-trust law, told RTS: “German, French, English, Spanish and American consumers pay a lot of attention to price. In Switzerland, consumers place more emphasis on quality of service. Price is almost secondary.

“Distributors have realised this and have stopped competing fiercely on price.”

Big versus small

While this particular analysis focused on supermarket chains, another survey, conducted at the end of 2023, looked at prices in small grocery shops. 

Common logic has it that it is cheaper to shop in supermarkets than a local corner store, because big retailers purchase products in large quantities, which means lower prices for consumers.

However, prices in some local shops were found to be “up to 30 percent cheaper than Migros and Coop.” 

The reason is that in order to cut costs, small grocers may buy their products from the most cost-effective suppliers, a tactic which includes importing some items.

Another reason for lower prices is that unlike major supermarkets, which ‘pretty up’ their stores for better presentation of products, these small retailers are ‘no-frill’ shops. This means little money is invested in décor, so there are no extra costs to pass on to consumers.

 READ ALSO: Why it might be cheaper to avoid the big supermarkets in Switzerland
 

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