What Consumer Protection Foundation does

Stiftung für Konsumentenschutz (SKS), also known as Konsumentenschutz or Consumer Protection Foundation, is a Swiss non-profit foundation founded in 1966 and headquartered at Nordring 4, Bern. The foundation provides consumer protection services to the Swiss general public, with a primary segment of general Swiss consumers seeking legal advice, contract checking, and health insurance support, and a secondary segment focused specifically on health insurance (Krankenkasse) matters. Service offerings span digital tools — the AGB-Check (available as a website tool and Firefox/Chromium browser extension), the Krankenkassen-Prämienrechner (independent health insurance premium calculator), the Krankenkassen Fairness-Check, the Musterbrief-Generator (template letter generator), and the Konsumentenschutz Uploader — together with human advisory services including telephone consultation, in-person consultation (booked via Easy2book), and the Schreibservice for drafting legal correspondence.

The underlying technology stack is conventional and Switzerland-centric: cobra CRM BI KI for supporter and donation management, Shopify for the online shop at shop.konsumentenschutz.ch, CleverReach for newsletter distribution, Friendly Analytics for cookieless website analytics, OnGoodTerms for the AGB-Check infrastructure, and Swiss-based hosting (METANET AG, BALZ Informatik AG, hosttech GmbH). Contact center operations are outsourced to Stiftung Brändi. The foundation publishes the quarterly Blickpunkt donor magazine (printed by Stämpfli AG, distributed by Swiss Post), maintains an active social media presence on Bluesky, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook, and produces an extensive online Ratgeber (guide) plus themed Dossiers on issues such as price inflation, banking, and nutrition.

The business model is donation- and membership-driven: recurring Gönnerschaft and Fördermitgliedschaft contributions (donors over CHF 60 receive a donor card and Blickpunkt mailing), supplemented by one-off donations (processed via RaiseNow, TWINT, eBill, Datatrans, Stripe, PayPal), modest online shop sales of compact guides and merchandise on Shopify, and fee-based consultation and Schreibservice revenue. Pricing for consultations is not publicly disclosed. The foundation operates as a non-trading, non-profit entity under Swiss law (UID CHE-107.809.718), funded entirely by supporter contributions and self-generated income, with no parent company or external ownership.

Name

Consumer Protection Foundation

Legal name

Stiftung für Konsumentenschutz

Website

https://konsumentenschutz.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1966

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Swiss non-profit foundation (founded 1966, Bern) that provides consumer protection services to Swiss consumers through free digital tools (AGB-Check, health insurance premium calculator, template letter generator), telephone and personal consultations, writing services, and policy advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bern

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Memberships (Gönnerschaft/Fördermitgliedschaft): The foundation accepts donations and memberships (Gönnerschaft, Fördermitgliedschaft) to support its work. Donors receive a donor card (Gönner:innenausweis) and the Blickpunkt magazine mailing.
2. Online Shop Sales: Sale of compact guides (Kompakt-Ratgeber), merchandise, and digital products (e-Ratgeber) through the Shopify-based online shop at shop.konsumentenschutz.ch.
3. Consulting Services: Phone consultation services (Telefonberatung) and personal consultation services (persönliche Beratung) for consumer issues. Also includes a writing service (Schreibservice) for drafting complaints and legal correspondence.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Consumer Protection Foundation (Stiftung für Konsumentenschutz) is a Swiss non-profit that provides consumer protection services to the Swiss public, including telephone and personal consultations, free digital self-help tools (AGB-Check for contract analysis, Präemienrechner for health insurance comparison, Musterbrief-Generator for legal template letters, Fairness-Check, and Uploader), an Online-Ratgeber knowledge base, a Schreibservice (writing service) for legal complaints, an e-commerce shop selling consumer guides, and policy advocacy on consumer rights issues.

Product overview

The Stiftung für Konsumentenschutz operates as a consumer protection organization offering a unified platform of digital tools and services. The core digital products include the AGB-Check (available both as a web tool and browser extension) for contract analysis, the Prämienrechner for health insurance premium comparison, the Musterbrief-Generator for template letters, the Fairness-Check for insurance terms analysis, and the Konsumentenschutz Uploader for secure document sharing. These are complemented by personal advisory services including telephone consultation and a writing service for complaints. The organization also operates an e-commerce shop selling compact guides and publishes the Blickpunkt donor magazine. All digital services are designed with data minimization principles, with most processing occurring on European/Swiss servers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AGB-Check (Website Tool)

Quantifiable outcome

• Petition with approximately 17,000 signatures submitted against minimum deductible increases

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration14 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• cobra computer's brainware AGcoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides and maintains the cobra CRM BI KI system used for customer relationship management, processing orders, donations, and mailing distribution. The CRM stores all supporter and customer data in Switzerland.
• Stiftung BrändicoreTechnology or IntegrationContact center partner with access to the CRM to check donor status (Gönnerschaftsstatus), process address mutations, and handle phone/email orders.
• BALZ Informatik AGcoreTechnology or IntegrationHosts the CRM, webshop, and donation platform servers in Switzerland. IT specialists have access to all server data for maintenance purposes.
• METANET AGcoreTechnology or IntegrationWeb hosting provider for the konsumentenschutz.ch website. Server logs are stored with METANET for website access logging.
• Shopify International LimitedcoreTechnology or IntegrationE-commerce platform powering the online shop at shop.konsumentenschutz.ch for selling guides and merchandise.
• RaiseNow AGcoreTechnology or IntegrationOnline donation form platform provider. Processes online donations and memberships for the foundation.
• OnGoodTermscoreTechnology or IntegrationProvides the AGB-Check tool for analyzing terms and conditions. Used both on the website and in the browser extension.
• hosttech GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationHosting provider for the Krankenkassen-Prämienrechner (health insurance premium calculator) at konsumentenschutz-praemienrechner.ch.
• Die Schweizerische Post AGcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHandles physical mailing distribution (Blickpunkt magazine and letters) and parcel delivery for online shop orders.
• Stämpfli AGminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrint partner for physical mailings including the Blickpunkt magazine.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Which?: UK consumer champion organization offering product reviews, advice, and campaigning. Comparable as an established consumer protection NGO with multi-channel engagement (digital tools, magazines, advisory services) and similar advocacy mission.
• Consumer Reports: US independent non-profit consumer organization providing product testing, ratings, and advocacy. Comparable as a large-scale consumer advocacy non-profit with similar mission and publication-driven engagement model, though operating in a much larger market.
• Stiftung Warentest: Germany's leading independent consumer testing foundation, conducting product comparisons and publishing reviews. Comparable as a consumer advocacy non-profit operating independent product/service analysis, though much larger in scale and German-market focused.
• Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband (vzbv): German federation of consumer organizations representing 16 state-level consumer centers. Comparable as a non-profit umbrella for consumer advocacy with comparable policy advocacy and consumer advisory functions at greater scale.
• European Consumer Organisation (BEUC): Brussels-based umbrella for 46 European consumer organizations including affiliates across EU/EEA. Comparable as a consumer advocacy federation representing consumer interests in policy, though operating at a pan-European level rather than single-country.

Direct peers

• Fédération Romande des Consommateurs (FRC): Swiss French-speaking consumer protection organization headquartered in Lausanne. Directly comparable as a fellow Swiss consumer advocacy NGO offering legal advice, publications, and consumer rights services to Swiss consumers, overlapping target audience and mission.
• Test Achats / Test Aankoop: Belgian consumer testing and advocacy organization. Comparable as a non-profit consumer organization providing product testing, advice, legal support, and advocacy with similar service categories.
• Beobachter: Swiss consumer law magazine and advisory service offering legal guidance to Swiss consumers. Comparable in providing consumer-facing legal information, contract advice, and consumer rights resources within the same Swiss market.
• UFC-Que Choisir: Major French consumer advocacy association providing product testing, legal advice, and consumer protection services. Comparable as an independent non-profit consumer organization with comparable service mix (advice, publications, advocacy).
• Konsument.at (Verein für Konsumenteninformation): Austrian consumer information association providing product testing, legal advice, and consumer advocacy in the DACH region. Comparable in mission and service mix (advice, publications, advocacy) as a German-speaking consumer protection organization.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/KonsumSchutz
• Facebookfacebook.com/stiftungfuerkonsumentenschutz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/konsumentenschutz
• Instagraminstagram.com/konsumentenschutz

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Consumer Protection Foundation