Battle of the “brand magic”

The name of Migros’ cooking fat, Meilener Süssfett, was copied by the competition, who even claimed it as their own. Gottfried Duttweiler’s response was to launch Alpha cooking fat to compete directly with the successful Astra brand-name product.

Gottlieb Duttweiler is no friend of brand products. In his very first flyer in 1925, he explains to housewives that Migros AG is a wholesale purchaser of foodstuffs, “which has adopted the principle of pure objectivity from the wholesale trade” and as such spurns the “advertising cult”. He also likes to speak of “brand hoaxes”, which make the products more expensive than they need to be, and announces: “Migros is leading a battle against brand terrorism.”
Duttweiler sees his aversion confirmed when a Basel cooking fat producer takes him to court over the name of his first internally produced product, Meilener Süssfett. He is convinced that the multinational concern Unilever is behind the action, as its subsidiary company, Sais, controls a large part of the oil and cooking fat market in Switzerland. Because of the “incredible success” of Meilener Süssfett, Duttweiler claims that “the oil trusts” want one of their satellites to ‘steal’ the product name. The Federal Court decision allows Duttweiler to continue to use the name Meilener Süssfett, but he is not placated.

Gottlieb Duttweiler declares war on Unilever in 1931 with the launch of the cooking fat Alpha. The name mirrors that of Unilever’s Steffisburg subsidiary, Astra Öl- und Fettwerke AG, whose margarine is called Astra. Under the title ‘NEU!’ (new), Duttweiler announces the Migros product as an affordable rival: “There is no difference in quality, so the housewives can happily free themselves from the ‘brand magic’ of Astra and save about one franc per kilo.”
In a public reply, Astra complains about the “disloyal manner” in which Migros “criticises our company’s products and prices”. It wants it known that the Migros fat is a “cheap, imported” product and that the name Alpha has been “deliberately unlawfully” chosen. Astra also attacks Duttweiler personally with the comment that considering his “first business venture”, he would be well advised “not to overstretch the bow of arrogance”. This is a reference to the fact that in 1921 the company Pfister & Duttweiler went into liquidation due to its debts. Then Astra threatens: “We will have the opportunity to deal with the machinations of Migros AG in more detail in front of the judge.”
There is in fact a court case with Unilever – not with Astra, but with another subsidiary, the Sais oil and fat producer in Horn. Alpha, the first brand copy created by Gottlieb Duttweiler disappears quietly, leaving no trace.