What Hiltl AG does

Hiltl AG is a privately held, family-owned vegetarian restaurant group founded in 1898 in Zurich, Switzerland, and currently led by fourth-generation owner Rolf Hiltl. The company operates five physical locations in Zurich — Haus Hiltl (flagship), Hiltl Sihlpost at Zurich Main Station, Hiltl Dachterrasse on Bahnhofstrasse, Hiltl am Strand at Mythenquai lake, and the Hiltl Akademie — alongside a catering division, a retail shop (including Switzerland's first vegetarian butchery), and a cooking academy. Its core product is a pay-by-weight vegetarian and vegan buffet with over 90 specialties, complemented by à la carte, brunch, bistro, and bar formats, plus dedicated seminar and event rooms.

The business generates revenue through five primary streams: restaurant operations (transaction-based across multiple formats), Hiltl Akademie cooking courses and events, catering delivery and pickup, retail products (cookbooks, vouchers, gifts), and a licensing arrangement with SWISS International Air Lines for in-flight vegetarian meals in all cabin classes (in place since 2009). Distribution is predominantly direct-to-consumer across five Zurich locations, augmented by the Hiltl Rewards mobile app loyalty program, an e-commerce storefront, and a strategic partnership with the tibits vegetarian fast-food chain. Pricing is usage-based for the buffet, with hybrid loyalty tier benefits (5% member discount, 20% student discount) and transaction-based pricing for courses and catering. The company is officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest continuously operating vegetarian restaurant.

Name

Hiltl AG

Legal name

Hiltl AG

Website

https://hiltl.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1898

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Hiltl AG is a 127-year-old, family-owned vegetarian restaurant group operating five locations in Zurich, together with a cooking academy, catering, retail, and a recipe licensing partnership with SWISS airline. It serves Zurich consumers, corporate event clients, and airline passengers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vegetarian Restaurants

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Caterers (72232), Cafeterias, Grill Buffets, and Buffets (722514)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Brasseries, Bistros & Trattorias (THAFACAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Health & Wellness / Functional Fast Casual (macro-counted, high-protein, allergen-friendly) (THAFABAO), Specialty Dietary & Wellness Catering (Vegan, Halal, Kosher, Allergy-Friendly) (THAFAIAK), Specialty & Dietary Catering (Vegan, Kosher, Halal, Allergy-Friendly) (HSACAGAH)

Keywords

• Vegetarian restaurant
• Plant-based cuisine
• Event catering
• Cooking academy
• Culinary hospitality

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Operations: Revenue from food and beverage sales across multiple restaurant locations (Haus Hiltl, Sihlpost, am Strand, Dachterrasse). Operates buffet (pay-by-weight), à la carte, bistro, brunch, and bar services.
2. Hiltl Akademie: Cooking courses, professional training, team building events, seminars, and workshops. Also offers exclusive dining experiences like Chef's Table and show cooking events.
3. Catering Services: Catering delivery and pickup services for regular office lunch deliveries and events in the Zurich area.
4. Retail Products: Sale of cookbooks, gifts, and vouchers through the Hiltl shop. Also includes vegetarian butchery products.
5. Licensing to SWISS: Licensing vegetarian and vegan recipes to SWISS airline for in-flight meals across all travel classes since 2009.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hiltl AG operates Zurich's oldest vegetarian restaurant (founded 1898, Guinness World Record since 2012), serving plant-based buffet and à la carte dishes across multiple locations. The company also runs a cooking academy, professional catering service, event venues, a loyalty program with mobile app, and licenses its recipes to SWISS International Air Lines.

Product overview

Hiltl AG is the world's oldest vegetarian restaurant group, founded in 1898 in Zurich, Switzerland. The company operates a multi-location restaurant business comprising the flagship Haus Hiltl with in-house cuisine and confectionery, multiple restaurant locations (Sihlpost, am Strand, Dachterrasse), a catering division, and the Hiltl Akademie cooking school. The core product is the Hiltl Buffet, a pay-by-weight vegetarian and vegan offering, complemented by à la carte dining. The company also offers a loyalty program with a dedicated mobile app, publishes cookbooks, supplies meals to SWISS airlines, and provides professional cooking courses and seminar facilities. The portfolio includes restaurants, event spaces, catering services, educational programs, and retail products, unified under the Hiltl vegetarian/vegan culinary brand.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hiltl Akademie: Competence centre for vegetarian and vegan cuisine offering cooking courses, team building events, professional training, and cooking events.
• tibits
• Hiltl Rewards

Products and services

• Haus Hiltl Flagship vegetarian restaurant offering pay-by-weight buffet service to dine-in customers in Zurich.
• Hiltl à la Carte Restaurant

Quantifiable outcome

• 125+ years of continuous operation as a vegetarian restaurant
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration17 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SWISS International Air LinescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Hiltl provides vegetarian and vegan recipes for SWISS airline in-flight meals across all travel classes on intercontinental flights from Switzerland. This collaboration celebrates over 10 years (as of 2019). The partnership includes special meals for all flight classes.
• tibitscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership between two family businesses. Hiltl provides culinary expertise, tried-and-tested products, and recipes to tibits vegetarian fast-food restaurants. Rolf Hiltl (4th generation owner of Hiltl) partnered with the Frei brothers (founders of tibits) after they met through media coverage of the venture competition. tibits uses Hiltl's unique buffet model and freshly squeezed juices.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves17 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Native Foods Cafe: US plant-based restaurant chain founded in 2007 offering fully vegan menu across multiple formats (fast casual to full service). Comparable to Hiltl as a multi-format plant-based restaurant group.
• Veggie Galaxy: Vegetarian casual dining restaurant in Cambridge, MA offering brunch and comfort-food vegetarian dishes. Comparable to Hiltl's à la carte and brunch formats within an established vegetarian dining destination.
• Loving Hut: Global vegetarian restaurant chain with 200+ locations worldwide. Directly comparable to Hiltl as a vegetarian dining brand competing for the same health-conscious and flexitarian consumer segment.
• tibits: Vegetarian pay-by-weight buffet restaurant chain founded by the Frei brothers with Hiltl's culinary backing. It is the closest comparable operating model to Hiltl (family-owned vegetarian buffet with Hiltl-supplied recipes) and operates as a strategic partnership/sister concept.

Broad incumbents

• Mövenpick Restaurants: Swiss-headquartered hospitality and restaurant group operating buffet and casual-dining formats worldwide. Comparable as a larger established Swiss dining operator with buffet concepts operating at greater scale than Hiltl.
• Le Pain Quotidien: European-inspired organic casual-dining chain with bakery and all-day menu. Comparable to Hiltl in the casual all-day vegetarian-friendly dining category, at broader scale across multiple countries.
• Marché International: Swiss-based international restaurant group with marketplace, buffet, and casual-dining concepts. Comparable as a competing Swiss-origin multi-format restaurant operator with buffet offerings similar to Hiltl.

Emerging players

• Dean & David: German-DACH healthy fast-casual chain focused on salads, bowls, and fresh ingredients with vegetarian-heavy menus. Relevant peer addressing the same health-conscious DACH consumer base as Hiltl.
• By Chloe: Plant-based fast-casual restaurant concept focusing on vegan American comfort food. Relevant peer in plant-based dining, although US-focused and serving a faster-casual segment versus Hiltl's full-service model.

Regional players

• Confiserie Sprüngli: Iconic Swiss confectionery and café established 1836 in Zurich with multiple Zurich locations. Comparable as a heritage Swiss gastronomy brand operating a multi-location Zurich business with strong tourism appeal, although in confectionery/cafe rather than full restaurant formats.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/results?search_query=hiltl
• Facebookfacebook.com/Hiltl
• Instagraminstagram.com/hiltl_restaurant
• TikToktiktok.com/@hiltl_restaurant
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hiltl-ag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Hiltl AG