The Eini Method: Plan Meals Around Real Deals

The Eini method is simple: instead of deciding what to cook and then shopping, you flip the order. You look at what Coop, Migros, Lidl, and Aldi have on promotion this week, then build your meal plan around those deals. It is not complicated — but most people never do it, and that gap costs Swiss households hundreds of francs a year.

Why does grocery shopping feel expensive even when you are careful?

You plan meals on Sunday, write a list, and shop carefully — yet the total at the checkout still surprises you. The reason is usually not quantity; it is timing. You are buying items at full price that will be 30–40% cheaper two days later, or buying fresh produce that goes on sale the same week you planned to eat it anyway.

According to the Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS), Swiss households spend an estimated CHF 8'000–10'000 per year on food and non-alcoholic drinks. Even small systematic savings compound fast. Cutting 15% off that figure means roughly CHF 1'200–1'500 back in your pocket annually — without eating worse.

What is the Eini method, step by step?

The method has four steps, and all four happen before you set foot in a shop.

1. Check this week's promotions. Open Eini and let the algorithm surface the best deals across Coop, Migros, Lidl, Aldi, Denner, and Volg. You are looking for proteins, vegetables, and pantry staples that are actually reduced — not just "special" packaging at the same price.
2. Anchor your meals to the deals. If chicken thighs are 40% off at Migros and broccoli is half price at Lidl, those two items anchor two or three dinners this week. You are not forcing yourself to eat something you dislike — you are choosing from deals that fit your taste.
3. Fill the gaps with what you already have. Before adding anything to your list, check your fridge and cupboards. Pasta, canned tomatoes, rice — most households have a deeper pantry than they realise. The meal plan links what is on sale to what you already own.
4. Shop once, with a complete list. A plan that covers five dinners with two lunches from leftovers means fewer trips, less impulse buying, and almost no food thrown away at the end of the week.

This is exactly what Eini's algorithm does: it cross-references current promotions with your saved recipe preferences and household size to suggest a coherent weekly plan. You adjust, confirm, and get a sorted shopping list by store aisle. See also: how batch cooking fits this approach.

How much food waste does the average Swiss household produce?

Quite a lot. The Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (BLV) and foodwaste.ch estimate that Swiss households throw away roughly 100 kg of food per person per year, with a significant share being avoidable — fresh produce, bread, and dairy bought without a clear plan for using it.

That waste has a direct financial cost. If you buy a CHF 3.50 bag of spinach intending to use it in three meals, but end up using half and binning the rest, the effective cost per portion rises sharply. Multiply that across your weekly shop and you begin to see why a structured plan pays off quickly.

Planning around deals does not just save you money at the checkout — it forces you to commit to actually using what you buy, which cuts waste at the same time. It is one of the few budget strategies that helps your wallet and reduces your environmental footprint simultaneously.

Which Swiss supermarkets offer the best weekly deals?

Every major chain runs weekly promotions, but the structure differs. Coop's Supercard holders get personalised discounts on top of the general weekly offers. Migros runs Cumulus points multipliers alongside percentage reductions. Lidl Plus and Aldi tend to offer steeper absolute discounts on a narrower range of products, which makes them excellent for proteins and seasonal produce when the timing lines up.

For households near an Aligro or Prodega, bulk buying during promotional weeks can stretch savings further — useful once you have a meal plan that tells you exactly what quantities you need for the month. See how seasonal buying amplifies these deals.

Does planning meals weekly actually save time?

Most people assume meal planning adds work. In practice, a 20-minute planning session on Sunday replaces five or six daily "what do we eat tonight?" conversations, at least two extra supermarket trips, and the mental load of improvising from a half-empty fridge.

Research from household behaviour studies suggests the average Swiss adult makes food-related decisions dozens of times per day. Decision fatigue is real. A weekly plan compresses those decisions into one focused session, freeing up mental energy for the rest of the week.

The Eini method is specifically designed to make that session short. The algorithm does the deal-matching; you do the final call on what your household will actually eat. Most users report the planning step takes under 15 minutes once they are familiar with the flow.

Can the Eini method work for families, couples, and single-person households?

Yes, and the savings scale differently for each. Single-person households benefit most from waste reduction — buying a 1 kg chicken breast on offer is only worthwhile if the plan accounts for using all of it across two or three meals. Without a plan, half ends up in the bin.

Families with children gain most from anchoring bulk deals to the meal plan. A family of four buying chicken thighs at 40% off and building four dinners around that one protein saves meaningfully per week. Over a month, that adds up.

Couples, particularly in Swiss cities where grocery prices are high relative to income, often find the biggest wins come from combining the method with one strategic shop at Lidl or Aldi for deal items and a top-up at the nearest Coop or Migros for fresh items mid-week. The plan tells you exactly what to buy where. See also how a monthly audit reveals where the real leaks are.