Swiss Nutrition Society

What Swiss Nutrition Society does

Swiss Nutrition Society (Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Ernährung / Société Suisse de Nutrition, SGE/SSN), founded in 1965 in Bern and organized as a non-profit association under Swiss Civil Code Art. 60ff., is the officially recognized national competence center for nutrition in Switzerland. The organization produces, curates, and disseminates science-based nutrition information — including the Swiss food pyramid, the balanced plate model, the food disc, and the ecological balance pyramid — and aligns all of its outputs with the official Swiss nutrition recommendations issued by the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (BLV). Its products and services span the quarterly tabula professional journal, the SGE-Shop (e-commerce storefront selling posters, brochures, games, and stickers), an annual specialist conference (SGE-Fachtagung), a webinar program, school-based educational programs (fit4future, GORILLA), and free public resources across life stages and dietary patterns (vegetarian, vegan, meat/fish).

The organization serves four primary customer segments: nutrition and health professionals (dietitians, nutrition scientists, pharmacists, doctors — its ~2,100 individual members); the Swiss federal government (BLV, BAG, BLW, BASPO, Promotion Santé Suisse — via performance mandates); schools, kindergartens, and municipalities (reached through RADIX's network of 850+ municipalities and 3,500+ schools and kindergartens since the 2018 secretariat integration); and the broader food industry and Swiss public (via collective and patron memberships, the patron program includes Coop, Migros, Nestlé, Emmi, Lidl, and Aldi). Revenue is generated through four streams: individual/collective/patron membership subscriptions (CHF 30 to CHF 10,000 per tier annually), government performance mandates, publication and merchandise sales through the SGE Shop, and patron donations (which carry no editorial influence). The secretariat, comprising approximately 9 employees under Director Esther Jost, is hosted within RADIX Swiss Health Foundation, providing operational and distribution infrastructure. Annual operating expenditure is approximately CHF 1.1 million; the organization celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2025 and assumed operation of the national '5 am Tag' (5 a Day) campaign under a BLV mandate from January 2025.

Name

Swiss Nutrition Society

Legal name

Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Ernährung (SGE) Société Suisse de Nutrition (SSN) Società Svizzera di Nutrizione (SSN) Swiss Society for Nutrition (SSN)

Website

https://sge-ssn.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Swiss Nutrition Society (SGE/SSN) is a Bern-based non-profit association founded in 1965 that serves as Switzerland's official national competence center for nutrition, producing science-based food pyramid, balanced plate, and dietary guideline resources for professionals, government, schools, and the public, funded through membership fees, federal mandates, publications, and corporate patrons.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nutrition Education and Public Health Services

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Nutrition Policy, Dietary Guidelines & Fortification Programs (HLAJAEAC)

Keywords

• Nutrition education
• Dietary guidelines
• Nutrition research
• Healthy eating
• Public health nutrition

Headquarters

HQ city

Berne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: Individual, collective (corporate/institutional), and patron (donor) membership dues. Annual fees range from CHF 30 (youth) to CHF 10,000 (patron corporate premium). Approximately 2,100 members generate a portion of annual revenue.
2. Government mandates and service contracts: Performance-based mandates from the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (BLV), Federal Office of Public Health (BAG), and Promotion Santé Suisse. These contracts fund specific public health nutrition projects and campaigns.
3. Publications and sales: Sale of publications including the tabula journal (free to members, paid for non-members), posters, brochures, and educational materials through the SGE Shop.
4. Patron (donor) membership contributions: 23 patron/donor members (as of August 2025) contribute approximately 10% of annual revenue. Patrons include major Swiss food companies (Coop, Migros, Nestlé, Emmi, Lidl, Aldi, etc.). Patron status carries no influence over SGE's professional statements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Swiss Nutrition Society (Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Ernährung, SGE) is a non-profit association that develops evidence-based nutrition recommendations and provides nutrition education, dietary guidance, and public-health advisory services for the Swiss population. It serves as a national competence center for nutrition, producing publications, educational materials, professional training, conferences, and consulting for government agencies, schools, healthcare professionals, the food industry, and individual members.

Product overview

Swiss Nutrition Society (SGE) operates as a unified educational platform centered on its official nutrition recommendations. The core offering consists of the Swiss food pyramid and balanced plate model, supplemented by the quarterly tabula magazine, an e-commerce shop for educational materials, school health programs (fit4future, GORILLA), annual conferences, and member-exclusive services including archives and nutritional consultation. The organization also provides free recipes, educational materials for various life stages, and a newsletter. SGE functions as a non-profit association providing science-based nutrition information, not as a technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• tabula (Journal)

Quantifiable outcome

• SGE and its RADIX programs serve over 850 Swiss municipalities and cities and more than 3,500 schools and kindergartens with nutrition promotion programs.

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RADIX – Schweizerische Gesundheitsstiftung (Swiss Health Foundation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018In 2018, the SGE General Assembly and RADIX's Foundation Board decided to integrate the SGE secretariat into RADIX. RADIX is a national competence center for public health and sustainable development, mandated by the Swiss Confederation, cantons, and private organizations. RADIX's thematic priorities include physical activity and nutrition, mental health, addiction, and violence prevention. RADIX's reach extends to over 850 municipalities and cities and more than 3,500 schools and kindergartens across Switzerland. SGE's programs benefit from RADIX's nationwide infrastructure.
• Bundesamt für Lebensmittelsicherheit und Veterinärwesen BLV (Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office)coreOthersBLV is the federal agency responsible for food safety and veterinary affairs in Switzerland. SGE aligns all its work with the official Swiss nutrition recommendations issued by BLV. Since January 2025, SGE has operated the national '5 am Tag' fruit and vegetable campaign on behalf of BLV.
• Bundesamt für Gesundheit BAG (Federal Office of Public Health)coreOthersBAG is the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. SGE cooperates with BAG on nutrition-related public health mandates and projects, contributing to national health promotion strategy.
• Bundesamt für Landwirtschaft BLW (Federal Office for Agriculture)minorOthersBLW is the Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture. SGE collaborates with BLW on matters relating to food production and agricultural policy intersections with nutrition recommendations.
• Bundesamt für Sport BASPO (Federal Office for Sport)minorOthersBASPO is the Swiss Federal Office for Sport. SGE cooperates on joint health promotion programs that combine physical activity and nutrition — key RADIX thematic areas.
• Promotion Santé Suisse (Swiss Health Promotion)coreOthersPromotion Santé Suisse is a Swiss foundation mandated by the federal government and cantons for health promotion. SGE works with Promotion Santé Suisse on the basis of performance contracts, contributing to national health promotion objectives.
• Swiss Sports Nutrition Society SSNSminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSSNS (Swiss Sports Nutrition Society) is a partner organization. SGE members receive a 30% discount on SSNS annual membership fees, facilitating cross-referral between the two nutrition-focused Swiss societies.
• 5 am Tag (National Fruit and Vegetable Campaign)coreOthersSGE has operated the Swiss '5 am Tag' (5 a Day) national campaign since January 2025 under a BLV mandate. The campaign aims to increase fruit and vegetable consumption across the Swiss population. SGE manages the campaign website, recipes, tips, and newsletter.
• fit4future programminorOthersfit4future is a national prevention project promoting health in approximately 700 primary schools around themes of physical activity, nutrition, and 'brain gym'. The program targets primary schoolchildren, their teachers, and parents. SGE is a specialized partner in the nutrition domain.
• GORILLA programminorOthersGORILLA is a health promotion and health education program active for over 10 years, focusing on freestyle sports (action), balanced nutrition (food), and sustainable living (green). SGE contributes nutritional expertise to this youth-focused program.
• European Food Safety Authority EFSAminorOthersEFSA is the European Union's scientific agency for food safety. SGE collaborates with EFSA as part of its international network of nutrition and food safety organizations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• British Nutrition Foundation (BNF): UK charity producing science-based nutrition information, running school programs, publishing professional content, and receiving government/industry funding — a direct international analogue to SGE's mandate and revenue mix.
• American Society for Nutrition (ASN): US professional society for nutrition scientists that publishes leading journals (AJCN), runs annual conferences, and serves members — comparable to SGE's tabula journal and Fachtagung on a larger professional-society scale.
• European Food Information Council (EUFIC): European-level non-profit that translates nutrition science for the public, professionals, and policymakers — directly comparable to SGE's science-to-public communication role and multilingual European remit.
• Österreichische Gesellschaft für Ernährung (ÖGE): Austrian national nutrition society producing dietary recommendations, running member programs, and contributing to public nutrition education — direct DACH-region peer under similar federal-government/public-health structures.
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung (DGE): Germany's national nutrition society, the closest direct peer in DACH: develops official dietary guidance, runs member subscriptions, publishes a professional journal, and holds federal government mandates — structurally identical to SGE but at German scale.
• Società Italiana di Nutrizione Umana (SINU): Italy's national nutrition society, producing national dietary guidelines (LARN), publishing scientific content, and serving as the official counterpart for Italian-speaking Switzerland — a direct linguistic and structural peer for SGE's IT-language audience.

Broad incumbents

• EFSA (European Food Safety Authority): EU-level scientific authority on food safety and nutrition that SGE formally engages with as an international partner — comparable as a science-based, government-aligned nutrition regulator operating above the national society level.
• International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI): Global non-profit advancing nutrition and food safety science with industry-funded programs — broader in geographic scope and corporate-funding profile than SGE, but comparable as a science-to-policy nutrition intermediary.
• Promotion Santé Suisse: Swiss federal foundation mandated by Bund and cantons for health promotion — a direct commissioning partner of SGE and the larger institutional counterpart covering physical activity, mental health, and nutrition in Switzerland.

Regional players

• Public Health Schweiz: Swiss national public-health professional association; SGE board member Prof. Dr. Sabine Rohrmann represents Public Health Schweiz on SGE's Vorstand — directly comparable Swiss-domiciled NGO focused on health promotion, operating in the same funding-policy environment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ssn_sge
• Facebookfacebook.com/ssnsge

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Swiss Nutrition Society