The industry is moving. Who will be the first to reach the finish line?

Last December, we put the four most powerful Swiss retailers under the microscope with our ‘Chicken Check’. This raised the question: how will they react? Today we can say: things are happening. Over the coming weeks, we will be taking a closer look at who is taking action, who is hesitating, and who will be the first to dare to make a real difference for the animals.

In Switzerland, over 80 million broiler chickens are reared and slaughtered every year. 92 per cent are fast-growing breeds: in just around 30 days, their bodies grow faster than their hearts and bones can keep up with. Whether this changes depends largely on the major retailers. They determine which breeds are used and how the animals are reared.

What has happened since the first ‘Chicken Check’

The results after a year are mixed, but one thing is clear: things are starting to change in the industry.

• This spring, Migros announced it would switch the product range of its own-brand Optigal to slower growing breeds. This makes the market leader the first to take action. We will be showing what this means for the chickens on 9 November.
• Lidl, Aldi and Coop have responded to our questions. That in itself is more than we saw a year ago. But is there genuine change behind this, or is it just empty words? We will reveal the answers in the coming weeks.

This progress shows that better standards are possible. The question is no longer ‘if’, but ‘who will be first’ and ‘how binding the standards will be’.

Europe is already ahead

Since 2016, over 200 food companies in Europe have signed the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), including Aldi in Germany, France and Spain, and Lidl in Germany, France and Belgium. Major catering providers such as the Compass Group have also made a commitment. What has long been standard practice abroad still does not apply to the Swiss subsidiaries of these same companies.

In Switzerland, no major retailer has signed the BCC to date. You may also be familiar with it under the name European Chicken Commitment (ECC): they refer to the same standards.

Customers are ready

Major retailers are keen to point to their customer base: they claim to offer what is in demand. We wanted to know if this was true. That is why, in late summer 2026, we commissioned a representative survey from the market research institute LeeWas. We will also be publishing the results of this survey in the coming weeks.

The answer is clear: 94 per cent of those surveyed believe it is important that broiler chickens are reared in a more animal-friendly manner. And almost three-quarters believe that large retailers have a responsibility to improve animal welfare.

Consumers can only choose from what’s on the shelves. It is the retailers who decide which breeds end up there.

What to expect in the coming weeks

Starting this week, we will be updating the Chicken Check step by step. Each week, we will be looking at a different part of the industry:

• 2 November: Lidl and Aldi under the microscope.
• 9 November: Migros: The market leader is acting. What the switch of Optigal means for the chickens.
• 16 November: Coop: Migros is taking first steps. When will Coop follow suit?
• 19 November: The new overall ranking: Who is in the lead, and who needs to catch up?

The result will be an updated chicken check. This makes it clear who is making progress and who isn’t.

Get involved

You and other supporters have already sent over 27,000 emails to the major retailers – more than we had set as our target. These voices are making a difference: they are one reason why things are starting to change today. Now it is crucial that announcements turn into binding commitments. Your voice counts.

For the time being, we are making an exception for Migros: it has announced a first step with the switch of its Optigal products. We are in dialogue with them and giving them time to implement the changes. That is why the emails are now being sent to Coop, Aldi and Lidl. If Migros doesn’t make progress, we will include them in the campaign again.

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