“Nutrition for the nerves”

In 1929 Migros successfully launched Eimalzin, a copy of the brand-name product Ovomaltine. This pick-me-up produced by Haco AG quickly became a Migros classic, and today sells a quarter of a million packages annually.

“After almost three years of searching for the best, we bring you today...” In the summer of 1929, Migros AG announces its latest product, the fortifying tonic Eimalzin, like a big show performance. This “nutrition for the nerves and muscles” is made mainly of “eggs, malt, cocoa and fresh milk” and is “rich in vitamins and minerals”.
Eimalzin, is quite clearly a well-made copy of Ovomaltine. Not only are the ingredients confusingly similar, but so is the packaging. And the name Eimalzin is nothing other than the German translations of ‘ovo’ and ‘malt’. Migros cheekily refers to the competition itself in its advertisements: “The credit for the introduction of this type of malt preparation is due to a well-known company from Berne [Ovomaltine] – the lower price is due to the Migros system.” This changes the “luxury product” from an “only occasionally enjoyed quasi-medicine into an everyday food with a regular food price”.
The rival product costs CHF4.20, but Eimalzin is just CHF2.50. The customers thank Migros: within three months, 800 tins are being sold daily in the Zurich region. Thus, Eimalzin has, according to Migros, “outstripped all other similar products”.

The Migros malt drink is produced in Gümligen by Haco-Gesellschaft AG, which has produced the breakfast drink for some time under the brand name Hacosan. Gottlieb Duttweiler praises the work of “our friends in Gümligen” and never tires of emphasising that Eimalzin is not merely of the same quality as the rival product, but is even better because “it doesn't really taste of malt, but develops an extremely pleasant aroma”. It is therefore particularly suitable for children, who “enjoy it with visible physical and indirect emotional pleasure”.
Just one year later, Migros launches the Haco product Migro-Malt as a cheaper version of Eimalzin. The reason for this is given as: “It is so sad that poorer people are not able to afford such fortifying tonics and are thus not able to return to full health!”
Unlike Migro-Malt, which soon disappears from the shelves, Eimalzin becomes a classic. It is soon offered as ‘Type A sweet’ and ‘Type B bitter’. In the 1950s, Eimalzin kalt, which is mixed with cold milk, follows, along with its little sister Vitalzin.
Eimalzin is still as popular as ever. A quarter of a million packets are sold each year.