Swiss exporters ahead of the implementation of the Swissness law
A study by HTW Chur has examined the importance of the designation of origin for exporting Swiss companies. Three quarters of companies use the image of Switzerland in their marketing.
Switzerland has an excellent reputation abroad. It is associated with chocolate, cheese, watches and mountains and stands for a beautiful landscape, high quality of life, reliability, trustworthiness and cleanliness. Internationally active Swiss companies take advantage of this positive image by displaying the term Switzerland and corresponding symbols in their market presence. However, the Swiss brand is not only used, but also abused. To protect against this, Parliament passed the new Swissness Act in June 2013, which regulates the use of the Swiss cross for products and services and defines criteria that must be met in order to be able to advertise with the Swiss designation of origin.
A study by the University of Applied Sciences HTW Chur has examined the significance of the designation of origin for exporting Swiss companies, how well they are prepared for the introduction of the new Swissness law and what support they need for its implementation. The study shows that three quarters of the companies surveyed use the Swiss designation of origin verbally and figuratively in their marketing. Swissness is most important in the food sector. Its importance is somewhat lower for industrial companies.
The degree of compliance with the new Swissness law varies greatly from sector to sector. Only 17 percent of the food manufacturers surveyed meet the requirement that at least 80 percent of the raw materials used come from Switzerland. 72 percent of industrial companies meet the requirement that 60 percent of manufacturing costs must be incurred in Switzerland. 93% of the service providers surveyed meet the requirement that their company headquarters must be located in Switzerland.
The level of information among the Swiss companies surveyed still appears to be inadequate in view of the great importance of the designation of origin. Only 2 percent of companies feel very well informed. 31 percent rate their level of knowledge as good, 48 percent as sufficient and 19 percent as insufficient. 46% of companies stated that they would like support in the form of advice and exchange with other companies. Many Swiss companies are therefore still faced with the task of finding out exactly what the new Swissness law requires and rethinking their value creation process if they want to continue to benefit from Switzerland's positive image after 2017.
