TEMU wants to sell food in Switzerland

We already knew him for his gadgets or toys sold at broken prices. The Chinese giant Temu now intends to impose itself in the food field. Indeed, the platform “actively prepares” its entry into Switzerland on this market, as revealed by a spokesperson in “Tages-Anzeiger”. The idea is to offer not only products from Asia, but also local foods, thanks to partnerships with Swiss manufacturers.

In other European countries, the platform already sells candies, drinks, but also fresh products. To convince the producers, she would approach them sometimes using methods qualified as “aggressive” by the German weekly “Lebensmittel Zeitung”. In Germany, the manufacturer Wurstbaron has taken the plunge and now sells meat and sausages on TEMU.

At this point, no Swiss company has yet decided to try its luck. But this is only a matter of time, according to Dagmar Jenni, director of the association of retail retail shops Federation. Reservations could however slow down certain producers anxious to preserve their margins, because on TEMU, it is not the supplier that fixes its prices, but the platform itself. Note also that not all volunteers are accepted, the Chinese giant selecting its partners via tenders where only the cheapest drops the bet.

It remains to be seen whether the entry of TEMU into the Swiss food market would be accompanied, as in the other areas of sale of the company, of unparalleled price. Dagmar Jenni is not convinced of it, because in Germany, the prices offered are “not really cheaper than those of comparable products at Aldi or Lidl”.