Open Food Network Switzerland

What Open Food Network Switzerland does

Open Food Network Switzerland (OFN Schweiz) is a Swiss non-profit association (Verein) founded in 2022 as the Swiss branch of the global Open Food Network, a non-profit network originally established in Australia in 2012. The organization operates an open-source digital marketplace (Ruby on Rails, AGPL 3) hosted at app.openfoodswitzerland.ch that enables local food producers, Food Hubs (collective direct-marketing projects), bio/organic retailers, and gastronomy businesses to sell directly to consumers (B2C) and to each other (B2B). The platform offers domain-specialized features including order cycles aligned to agricultural production, subscription boxes for weekly vegetable deliveries (Solawi-style), unknown-weight sales for variable products like meat and cheese, multi-producer hub shops, enterprise fees, group buying, product variants, CSV imports, and gift vouchers, with full multi-language support (German, French, Italian, English) and PCI-compliant payments. The association is staffed by a four-person core team supported by a four-person board, headquartered in Switzerland, and financially backed by the Seedling Foundation and a roster of friendly organizations including BioSuisse and Agroecology Works.

The business model is hybrid: a freemium subscription-and-commission pricing structure charges no fees under 1,000 CHF/month of platform revenue, then 50 CHF/month + 3.5% commission between 1,000-6,000 CHF/month, and 100 CHF/month + 1% commission above 6,000 CHF/month, with all revenue reinvested into the non-profit mission. Additional revenue streams include a fee-for-service Startup Package (10 hours of training at CHF 85/hour beyond the included hours), three membership tiers (Benefactor, Sole Proprietor, Food Hub), and donations via the Raisenow payment platform. Go-to-market is community-led and self-serve, relying on webinars, partner referrals, organic social media (LinkedIn, Instagram), and an interactive producer-discovery map, rather than paid acquisition.

Name

Open Food Network Switzerland

Legal name

Open Food Network Schweiz

Website

https://openfoodswitzerland.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Open Food Network Switzerland is a non-profit association that operates an open-source digital marketplace enabling Swiss local food producers, Food Hubs, and retailers to sell directly to consumers and businesses through a freemium subscription-and-commission model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food E-commerce Platform

NAICS

Other Specialty Food Retailers (44529)

SIC

Retail-Grocery Stores (5411), Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty & Artisanal Online Food Marketplaces (AFAIAMAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Grocery & Specialty Food Marketplaces (CRAFABAE), Wholesale-to-Business Online Ordering (B2B Food E-Commerce) (AFAIAMAD)

Keywords

• Open source marketplace
• Food commerce platform
• Food hub software
• Producer direct sales
• Local food e-commerce

Headquarters

HQ city

Bern

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Platform Subscription + Commission (Revenue-Tiered): Platform usage fees charged based on monthly revenue generated on the platform. Three tiers: free under 1,000 CHF/month, 50 CHF/month + 3.5% commission for 1,000–6,000 CHF/month, and 100 CHF/month + 1% commission above 6,000 CHF/month. As a non-profit association, all revenue is reinvested into platform development and network operations.
2. Professional Services (Startup Package): A 10-hour training and onboarding package for producers and Food Hubs including data migration, workflow definition, and integration support, priced at CHF 85/hour for additional hours beyond the included 10.
3. Membership Fees: Three types of membership available: Bienfaiteur/Donor (benefactor), Entreprise individuelle/ Einzelunternehmen (individual enterprise), and Food Hub. Members contribute to building a strong network for local producers, consumers, and initiatives.
4. Donations: One-time donation option via Raisenow payment platform to support OFN Switzerland's non-profit mission.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Open Food Network Switzerland operates an open-source online marketplace platform that enables local food producers, food hubs, and bio/organic specialty shops to run digital farm stores and collective direct-marketing storefronts for selling to consumers (B2C) and to restaurants/retailers (B2B). As a Swiss non-profit association, it complements the platform with paid onboarding/training packages, project consulting for food hub initiatives, and free introduction webinars. The platform supports order cycles, subscriptions, multi-producer shops, group directories, interactive maps, and PCI-compliant payments across German, French, Italian, and English.

Product overview

Open Food Network Switzerland operates a unified open-source online marketplace platform for regional food sales, offered as a free platform with optional paid tiers. The core Open Food Network Platform supports B2C (producer-to-consumer farm shops and Food Hubs) and B2B (producer-to-restaurant/retail) sales relationships. Users can upgrade their presence through three optional add-on modules: Producer Profiles for individual producers to list products, Multi-Producer Shops (Hubs) for collective food stores aggregating multiple producers, and Groups for regional or philosophical collectives with shared directory pages and maps. A fee-for-service Startup Package offers structured onboarding with 10 hours of guided training. Food Hubs Consulting provides project support for collective direct marketing initiatives, including workshops and individual advisoring. Free Introduction Webinars teach platform configuration. The platform's built-in features include payment methods, enterprise fees, subscriptions, CSV product imports, product variants, order cycles, group buying, and gift vouchers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Open Food Network Platform
• Startup Package (Training and Onboarding)

Quantifiable outcome

• 292 food producers, 59 food shops, 127 food buyers, and 1,176 food orders facilitated through the platform
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature12 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Agroecology Works (agroecologyworks.ch)minorOthersFriendly organization in the Swiss agroecology network. Listed as a partner organization on the OFN Switzerland website, indicating mutual alignment in promoting sustainable and localized food systems.
• BioSuisseminorOthersSwiss organic farming umbrella organization. Listed as a friendly organization on OFN Switzerland's website, indicating shared mission in promoting organic and sustainable food.
• Ne'Na'Na (box.nenana.ch)minorOthersAssociation representing Ne'Na'Na on OFN Switzerland's board. Ne'Na'Na promotes networking between producers and consumers in agriculture and food supply, increasing Swiss self-sufficiency and ecological land management.
• Faire Märkte SchweizminorOthersOrganization promoting farmers' markets in Switzerland. Listed as a friendly organization aligned with OFN Switzerland's mission of short supply chains.
• ConfoederaminorOthersListed as a friendly organization in OFN Switzerland's partner network. Confoedera appears to be part of the Swiss cooperative and food sovereignty movement.
• TegonalminorOthersListed as a friendly organization. Tegonal appears to be an entity in the Swiss local/sustainable food ecosystem.
• bionetz.chminorOthersSwiss bio/organic network organization. Listed as a friendly organization, signaling shared commitment to organic and sustainable food systems.
• APRÈS-VDminorOthersListed as a friendly organization on the OFN Switzerland website, apparently a regional food/lifestyle organization in the Canton of Vaud.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• FoodCloud: Irish non-profit tech platform connecting surplus food with charities and consumers. Shares the non-profit, mission-driven, technology-for-food-systems positioning with OFN Switzerland, but operates in food rescue rather than direct producer sales.

Regional players

• Regionalwert AG: German regional food value-chain company offering financing and infrastructure for regional organic producers. Comparable on the mission of relocalizing food systems and supporting small producers, but German-only and finance/infrastructure oriented rather than a marketplace platform.

Direct peers

• Local Food Marketplace: US-based SaaS platform purpose-built for food hubs, CSAs, and multi-producer online sales. Closest US analogue to OFN Switzerland's Food Hub multi-producer shop concept and order-cycle workflow.
• Biomondo: Swiss online marketplace for organic products operated by BioSuisse - itself an OFN Switzerland partner. Direct competitor for Swiss organic farm-direct sales and a reference point for what an established Swiss player looks like in this niche.
• CrowdFarming: European direct-from-farmer marketplace offering producer profiles, adoption/subscription models, and B2C and B2B logistics. Operates in the same 'relocalization of food systems' niche as OFN Switzerland but as a venture-backed commercial company.
• La Ruche qui dit Oui (Le Local): French online marketplace connecting local producers and consumers via organized weekly pickup points ('ruches'). Closely comparable business model to OFN Switzerland's Food Hub concept - multi-producer collective direct marketing with online ordering and decentralized fulfillment.
• Open Food Network (Global): The international parent non-profit founded in Australia in 2012 that develops the open-source Ruby on Rails platform OFN Switzerland operates as a local instance. Same product, same cooperative model, broader multi-country footprint - the most direct comparable.
• OpenOlitor: Swiss open-source software for Community Supported Agriculture (CSA/Solawi) management. A listed partner of OFN Switzerland, it overlaps directly on the subscription/recurring-order and producer-admin functionality OFN offers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/openfoodfoundation/openfoodnetwork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/open-food-network-switzerland
• Instagraminstagram.com/openfood.ch

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Open Food Network Switzerland