Pay less, eat just as well.Save money on groceries in Switzerland: 7 levers

Make a weekly plan

If you know what is on the table this week, you only buy for that. Plan lunch and dinner for the days you cook, and plan leftovers on purpose: cook once, eat twice. The plan is the basis for every other lever.

Eini does this for you: the meal plan is built from the week’s promotions, to fit your household, your diet and your stores.

Shop with a list

A list protects you from impulse buys and from things you already have at home. Check your pantry before you shop and cross off what is still there. More on this: The shopping list method.

In Eini, the shopping list comes from the weekly plan, sorted by store, with real products and prices.

Use promotions on purpose

Promotions save a lot: in the week from 28 September 2026, the median discount on food promotions at Coop, Migros, Denner and Aligro was between 20% and 25%. But a promotion only saves money if you need the product anyway. So plan your meals around the promotions, not your shopping around bargains. Long-life staples like pasta, rice or tins are worth stocking up on when the discount is high.

How many promotions each store has per week is on Data & Method. Background: How Swiss promotion cycles work.

Own brand instead of a brand

For staples, the own brand often costs only a fraction of the brand. Barilla penne cost CHF 3.40 per kilo at Coop, Prix Garantie penne CHF 1.20. Between the cheapest own brands of Coop and Migros, on the other hand, the difference is usually zero: for 19 of 23 staples they cost the same per kilo (comparison with real prices). More on this: M-Budget vs Prix Garantie.

Compare the price per kilo

The pack price is misleading. Compare the unit price per kilo, litre or 100 g that is on every price label. Bigger packs are often cheaper: M-Budget onions at Migros cost CHF 1.50 per kilo in the 2 kg pack and CHF 1.70 in the 1 kg pack. That only pays off if you use it all up. More on this: The unit price trick.

Throw away less

About CHF 600 per person a year ends up in the bin. What you do not throw away, you do not have to buy again. Three habits help most: use up what is already there first, plan leftovers as a meal of their own and plan quantities by the number of people, not by feel. More on this: What food waste costs a household and Leftover makeovers.

In Eini, what is in your pantry drops off the list, recipes that use it are favoured, and with leftovers you cook once and eat twice.

Compare stores the right way

On regular prices of the cheapest own brands, Coop, Migros, Aldi and Denner are often only a few centimes apart. The big differences are in the promotions, and those are spread differently across the stores every week. Shopping in two or three stores lets you take the best promotions. Always compare the price per kilo and the same quality: How to compare grocery prices.

In “cheapest basket” mode, Eini spreads the list across the stores where the products cost least.