The Bell Food Group is the leading meat processor and manufacturer of convenience products in Switzerland. The company was founded in 1869 by Samuel Bell in Basel, where its headquarters is located. Its range of products includes meat, poultry, charcuterie, seafood and convenience products. Brands include Bell, Abraham, ZIMBO, Môssieur Polette and Hilcona. The Bell Food Group has 65 locations in 15 European countries and employs 11,960 people, as of 2019.[1][2]
On 29 March 1869, Samuel Bell-Roth (1840-1920) opened "Ochsenmetzg" (ox butchery) at Streitgasse 13 in Basel.[3] The first store opened two decades later. The Samuel Bell Söhne company was founded in 1899 by Samuel Bell-Roth, Eduard Bell, Samuel Bell-Vollenweider and Rudolf Bell. It was converted into a stock corporation in 1907. In the same year, an area was acquired at Elsässerstrasse 174–188 in Basel, which still serves as the headquarters and production site today.[3]
As early as 1912, Bell was the largest meat producer in Switzerland and one year later it entered into an alliance ("Bell Alliance") with what was then the Association of Swiss Consumers (now Coop).[4]
The group of companies was converted into a holding company in 1999. In 2001, Bell took over all Coop butchers' headquarters. In 2002/2003, Bell took over SEG-Poulets AG in Zell (LU) and integrated it into Bell Holding. The chicken producers from Bell are united in the Mästerorganisation SEG (Organization of fatteners, MOSEG for short).[5] Bell spun off its own butcher shops in 2004 by means of a management buyout. In 2005, Bell brought the retail division (Bell Gastro Service and Grande Boucherie du Molard), with the exception of Bell Catering, into the Transgourmet joint venture, which was newly founded between Coop and the German Rewe Group.[6]
In 2006, Bell entered into foreign markets, at first by exporting meat to Luxembourg,[3] and later by acquiring French charcuterie manufacturer Polette, and German sausage manufacturer Abraham.[7][8][9] On 1 October 2008, Bell AG acquired a 70 percent stake in the German meat products manufacturer Zimbo in Bochum.[10] In November 2008, 75 percent of Abraham Schinken was acquired.[11] At the end of 2009, all catering activities were sold to the SV Group. With effect from the beginning of 2011, Bell incorporated the Convenience division into the Liechtenstein company Hilcona. In return, Bell took a 49% stake in Hilcona AG (the other of the two Hilcona shareholders were the Toni Hilti family trust). On 1 May 2015, Bell redeemed the agreed option for a further two percent of Hilcona AG and thus became the majority shareholder with 51 percent.[12]
The majority shareholder of Bell Food Group AG, which is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, is the Coop Group Cooperative based in Basel, with a share of 66.29 percent. Another shareholder with a 3.01 percent stake is J. Safra Sarasin Investmentfonds AG (a subsidiary of Bank J. Safra Sarasin). The rest of the shares are in free float (as of 31 December 2014).[13] In June 2022, Coop announced that it intended to increase its stake to 66.67 percent.[14]
In 2014, the German Federal Cartel Office imposed a three-digit million fine on 21 sausage companies in the so-called sausage cartel, including Bell Deutschland, for illegal price fixing.[15] On 23 June 2017, the German Federal Cartel Office dropped the proceedings against Bell Deutschland.[16]
With effect from 1 March 2016, Austria's largest poultry meat producer, Hubers Landhendl, was taken over.[17] On 1 April 2016, Bell acquired the Zurich-based Eisberg Group, which produces lettuce, employs 400 people in Switzerland and Eastern Europe and has a turnover of CHF 55 million. Also in 2016, Bell took over Cher-Mignon SA, which specializes in charcuterie and is based in the Valais municipality of Chermignon and has annual sales of CHF 13 million.[18] On 1 October 2016, Bell acquired Geiser AG, which specializes in supplying caterers and is based in Schlieren (ZH). With 120 employees, the company achieves annual sales of around CHF 45 million.[19]
Investments planned in Oensingen for the replacement of Bell's existing cattle slaughterhouse on Dünnernstrasse and the location of the pork cutting plant were not well received by the Swiss Traffic Club (VCS). The VCS criticized that the parking garage was being built for all of the future 1,200 employees. In the traffic forecast of the environmental impact report, it is assumed that all employees travel to work individually in a motor vehicle. As a result, the VCS argues that carpooling, public transport users or non-motorized traffic with bicycles and pedestrians were not taken into account in these calculations.[20]
In 2018, Bell acquired the controlling stake in Swiss soup and sauce producer Hügli. by taking 50.2% of the share of Dr. A. Stoffel Holding and with it 65% of the voting rights in Hügli Holding.[21] Hügli is to be continued as an independent business unit within Bell.[22] Also in 2018, Bell took a 2 million euro stake in the Dutch company Mosa Meat; which plans to bring in vitro meat to market by 2021.[23] The company now also offers meat substitutes.[24]
On the night of 20-21 November 2018, the slaughterhouse in Oensingen was occupied by 134 activists from the animal rights movement 269 Libération Animale. The occupation was cleared by the police[25] and more than 100 penal orders were issued by the public prosecutor's office.[26] 34 activists have appealed the penal orders they received for coercion, trespassing and hindrance of an official act and are now facing court appearances.[27]
At the end of February 2019, it was announced that former Federal Councilor Doris Leuthard was to take a seat on the Board of Directors of the Bell Food Group on 16 April 2019.[28] At the Annual General Meeting on 23 March 2021, Hansueli Loosli resigned from the Board of Directors of the Bell Food Group after twelve years in office as Chairman. His successor was the previous Vice Chairman Joos Sutter. Doris Leuthard was elected as the new Vice President.[29]
The headquarters of the Bell Food Group is in Basel, Switzerland. On July, 2019, the Bell Food Group was divided into three divisions: Bell Switzerland, Bell International, and Convenience and Services. The Bell International division is made up of Bell Germany, Bell Western/Eastern Europe and Hubers/Sütag divisions. The Convenience division comprises Eisberg, Hilcona and Hügli.[34]
Around 8,000 employees generated consolidated sales of CHF 2.6 billion in the fiscal year 2014. Bell is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The majority shareholder of Bell is Coop, one of Switzerland's largest retail and wholesale companies.
In June 2022, the Bell Food Group was ranked 53rd in the list of the largest Swiss companies. In Switzerland, Bell is the second largest market participant in poultry production, with a market share of 32.7% (as of 2018), after Micarna (market share of 41.5%) and ahead of FRIFAG Märwil AG (Frifag for short; market share of 14%).[35]
Bell Schweiz AG is a member of the industry organization Proviande. Bell is also represented by Marco Tschanz on the board of directors of Centravo Holding AG,[36] a group of companies specializing in the processing and disposal of slaughterhouse by-products.[37]
Cenovis is a dark brown food paste from Switzerland consisting of yeast extract, onions, carrots and spices. It is similar to English Marmite, Brazilian Cenovit, and Australian Vegemite. It is rich in vitamin B1. It is used to flavour soups, sausages, and salads. The most popular way to consume Cenovis, however, is to spread it on a slice of buttered bread, as stated on the product's packaging (it can also be blended directly into butter, and then spread on bread, or used as a filling in croissants and buns).
Swisscom AG is a major telecommunications provider in Switzerland. Its headquarters are located in Worblaufen near Bern. The Swiss government owns 51 percent of Swisscom AG. According to its own published data, Swisscom holds a market share of 56% for mobile, 50% for broadband and 37% for TV telecommunication in Switzerland. Its Italian subsidiary Fastweb is attributed 16% of private clients and 29% of corporate clients share of Italian broadband and is also active in the mobile market.
Migros is Switzerland's largest retail company, its largest supermarket chain and largest employer. It is also one of the forty largest retailers in the world. It is structured in the form of a co-operative federation, with more than two million members.
Denner is a discount supermarket chain in Switzerland. It is Switzerland's third-largest supermarket chain after Migros and Coop with 11.4% market share. It is owned by the Federation of Migros Cooperatives since 2007.
Ringier AG is a media group in Switzerland, founded in 1833 in Zofingen and based in Zürich. The current strategy is based not only on media but also on e-commerce and entertainment. It has a yearly income of approximately 1000 million CHF and around 6,400 employees in nineteen countries.
Coop is one of Switzerland's largest retail and wholesale companies. It is structured in the form of a cooperative society with around 2.5 million members.
Emmi AG is a Swiss milk processor and dairy products company headquartered in Lucerne. The company employs a total of around 8,900 people in Europe, North America, South America and North Africa (Tunisia). Emmi AG is listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange. The company generates about 42.5 percent of its sales locally and the other 57.5 percent abroad. Numerous production companies in Switzerland belong to the Emmi Group. Outside of Switzerland, Emmi has production facilities, in Chile, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain, Tunisia, Brazil, Canada and the USA. Emmi is one of the 500 largest companies in Switzerland.
Implenia is a Swiss real estate and construction services company with activities in development and civil engineering in Switzerland and Germany. Implenia is also active in tunnelling and related infrastructure construction in Austria, France, Sweden, Norway and Italy. The Group was formed at the beginning of 2006 from the merger of Basel-based Batigroup Holding AG with Geneva-based Zschokke Holding SA. The headquarters are located in Glattpark (Opfikon) in the canton of Zurich. Implenia is one of the 500 largest companies in Switzerland.
Gategroup is a Swiss company providing services to the travel industry, including catering, onboard retail, food service provisioning, and food logistics. It serves as the parent company for four core brands, and is a supplier to many major airlines. Its head office is in Glattbrugg, Switzerland, near Zurich Airport.
Alpiq is an internationally active energy group headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. The company was established in 2009 after the merger of Atel Holding AG and EOS S.A..
SIX operates the infrastructure for the Swiss financial centre. The company provides services relating to securities transactions, the processing of financial information, payment transactions and is building a digital infrastructure. The company name SIX is an abbreviation and stands for Swiss Infrastructure and Exchange. SIX is globally active, with its headquarters in Zurich.
Betty Bossi is a Swiss cookbook publisher. The Betty Bossi brand published various cookbooks and newsletters and sponsored various cooking contests. Shirley Eu-Wong, author of Culture shock!: Switzerland, said that Betty Bossi "recipe booklets can be found in almost any Swiss-Romande kitchen cabinet." The brand is operated by Betty Bossi AG/Betty Bossi SA, headquartered in Zurich, which is owned by the Coop group.
Helvetia is an international insurance group that exists since 1858. The group of companies has been organised in a holding structure since 1996. The head office of Helvetia Group is located in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Chocolats Halba is a Swiss chocolate producer based in Pratteln (Basel-Landschaft). Chocolate Halba operates its own factory shops, the so-called Schoggihüsli, in Pratteln and at the former factory in Hinwil. It is a division of the retail company Coop and processes around 20,000 tons of chocolate into bars, pralines and Easter bunnies every year. Around 40% of the chocolate is delivered to the Coop Group, the rest goes to third-party customers around the world – including those in Switzerland, Germany, France, Holland, the USA, Canada, New Zealand and China. In addition to the Coop brand Swiss Confisa, they also produce for other brands such as "Die Gute Schokolade" by Plant-for-the-Planet and for the processing industry.
Cargo Sous Terrain is a planned underground logistics system in Switzerland. It was set up as an association in September 2013, and was based at the headquarters of the Swiss retailer Coop in Basel. It converted itself into a share company on 24 March 2017.
VHV Group is a German insurance and reinsurance company based in Hanover, specialising in provision non-life and life insurance as well. Its core businesses are all insurance services. Today VHV Group operates primarily in Europe, Middle East and East Asia and especially in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Austria and Turkey. VHV is one of the twenty most important insurance companies in Germany, the leading German insurance company in the construction sector and one of the five major car insurance companies in Germany. Moreover, the VHV Group is the leading risk life insurer in Germany. VHV Group owns a network of subsidiaries, branches and representative offices with a total staff of roughly 4,000, including 2,400 employees in Hanover. Due to the earning power of the VHV-Group and its capitalization level Standard and Poor's raised the rating on A+ Level in April 2017. In 2016 the VHV was able to expand its contractual figures to over 10 million insurance contracts for the first time.
Hilcona AG, based in Schaan in the Principality of Liechtenstein, is an international food manufacturer.
Hochdorf Holding, often referred to as the Hochdorf Group, is a Swiss food company based in Hochdorf and the third largest dairy company in Switzerland. As of 31 December 2021, the group of companies employed 387 people and generated a consolidated net sales of 303.5 million Swiss francs. Hochdorf Holding is one of the 500 largest companies in Switzerland. Its shares have been listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 17. May 2011.
Orior AG, based in Zurich, is a publicly listed food group specializing in fresh convenience food. It employs around 2,300 people and generated sales of around 596 million Swiss francs in 2019.
The Elsa Group SA, based in Estavayer-le-Lac, is a company belonging to the Swiss retail group Migros that produces dairy products and colonial goods. In the 2005 financial year, the company had 622 employees and achieved 657 million francs in sales. The products are primarily manufactured for the Migros cooperatives and sold in their stores; a selection of products are sold abroad under Migros’s export label Swiss Delice. The Elsa Group is one of the largest dairies in Switzerland and one of its 500 largest companies.
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