Anyone who has occasionally shopped at Migros has grown up with them: the many pretty own-brand names. Some of them have recently been discontinued. High time for a little tribute!

The bridge on the sugar packet was already easily recognizable at kindergarten age. As schoolchildren, just able to read and still holding mom's hand, they would gleefully decipher the first inscriptions such as MICAMU and think of the caramels with fresh cream from the cow. When FRELITTA was added to the bread at home (it didn't always have to be Nutella), happiness was perfect. I didn't know at the time that the name had anything to do with "Chocolat Frey", but it tasted sweet and sounded like freedom.

In adolescence and well beyond, you wanted to be different from the dominant mainstream: what could be more obvious than leaving the eternally identical brands of the 'multinationals' behind and preferring the small own brands that proudly asserted themselves in the sea of big capitalism: you showered together with IDUNA, the Nordic goddess who bestowed eternal youth (later you liked to lie in the FANJO bath, whose warmth corresponded to a mixture of hot mud therapy, fun and a lot of 'me' culture - il mio io).

After leaving home, there was BONCAMPO coffee on the shared table, which tasted good and was reminiscent of the revolutionary campesinos in South America. That's why we certainly didn't have US Uncle Ben's rice for lunch; the TANTE CAROLINE rice sounded less like colonialism, colonial goods or not. An APROZ-COLA was served with it, followed by CANDIDA for white teeth, so there was no need for a signal from Sunlight. Finally, for facial and body care, there was a charming, seemingly Eastern European beauty called JANA, who actually only came from Aargau - but at least she was from MIBELLE. For the nobler faces, ZOE later came to the fore - a Byzantine empress who was emancipated and socially committed: after the death of her first husband, she married a valet, ruled with her sister in between and finally married Constantine IX. All this in the Middle Ages! It made quite an impression on us WG students, so that ZOE creams were very popular, even though they are intended for more mature skin. But at the end of the day, we had the 'intermediate school-leaving certificate' behind us.

And did they wash dirty laundry in the shared flat? Of course, TOTALLY and with ELAN. There was still a BELLA/LINDA in my parents' laundry room, one for pre-washing and the other for the main wash. When I once discovered that the East German 'GDR' also called a detergent by this name (industrial espionage in Switzerland?), the 'alternative' shared flat was immensely pleased.
But middle-class households still enjoy the Migros brands to this day: fast multi-purpose cleaners from HOPP to HOPI, POLY and POTZ were and still are on offer, and for fine laundry there is even a pretty Welsche, YVETTE, which the German-speaking Swiss also like ("I wett Yvette").

For pasta, some love CARAMIA, others go for the TIPO M or the ZIAMARIA, while the house cat purrs peacefully in French with its RONRON food: ronron, ronron. Everyone is happy with their meal, because all the vitamins have been preserved in the MIVIT pans and the food is seasoned with a mysterious, golden shimmering powder: MIRADOR. Lastly, housewives or househusbands use MIOBRILL to make the stove shine, and possibly the furniture too, thanks to BRILLA polish.

The fact that English became trendier over time is also reflected in the names of the private labels: Bircher muesli is always REDDY and served up, while MIODOUCE fabric softener was later called MIOSOFT. Hiking requires SUNLOOK to prevent sunburn and SUNQUEEN dried fruit to prevent hunger pangs. However, the French touch was never completely abandoned: LIGHT products are now called LEGER, and for fine dining there is SéLECTION to sample, so you don't have to 'fooden' as much. Even the Spanish life-giving Darvida can be found at Migros as a French-Italian "wheat for life": BLEVITA.

The M range offers something nice for many parts of the body: EFINA and PEDIC ointments for hands and feet, CAFINO instant coffee for the mouth and MOLFINA for under the belt to keep things dry.

Recently, some of these products have only been marketed as M classics: goodbye GIDE cream soap, which would have pleased the elegant French author André Gide and his namesake Charles (an advocate of the cooperative idea) in equal measure. Bye-bye LINSOFT disposable handkerchief, which in your name still reminds us of the linen handkerchief of our grandfathers! And goodbye SANESSI apple cider vinegar, may we always remember how healthy this vinegar is! - How long will MARC AURELE smile at us from the bottom shelf? Roman emperor, adopted son and namesake for a Migros men's fragrance, he wrote his thoughts on the impermanence of existence at an early age...

One consolation remains: very many Migros brands are not disappearing. We continue to wish each other a Greek 'calimera/good morning under a Californian sunrise: CALIFORA! Then the dishes are washed by hand with the practical HANDY or MANELLA, and because a visit to the hairdresser has become unnecessary thanks to GOLDEN HAIR PROFESSIONAL, you can read something from the EX LIBRIS books before stopping off at the motherly ANNA'S BEST kitchen. The DON POLLO meat comes from a barn where the chickens have it as good as they do in Gaul: OPTIGAL! For dessert: golden MIDOR biscuits and glazes. "Cheers Aproz!" says a Valaisan. His grandmother is looking forward to the traditional filter coffee EXQUISITO, while his daughter wants to go and play and looks up at the sky. SKAI, that's what it's been called for her since she started attending early English classes. Just like her favorite chewing gums, the only ones 'made in Switzerland'. "JOWA?" Yes, it is. Bravo!
In the luxury glacé segment, the small, fresh ROYAL CLASS was launched years ago to counter the European brand product 'Hägen Dasz'. And even today, when there are only 'Magnum' sticks to suck on throughout the EU, the creamy, exclusive MEGASTAR made from Swiss milk and chocolate still comes from the lovely shores of Lake Zurich. We can certainly be a little proud of these own brands, these stubborn home-grown products (MIFA, for example, is the last big detergent factory in this country).
Martin Fürst