Aligro customer card: who can shop at Aligro?
Private individuals can shop at Aligro, with no entry fee and, in most stores, no card at all. Only Bern and Pratteln require the free customer card. This guide covers the four card types, how to apply, the VAT difference between private and professional shoppers, and whether third-party cards like Prodega work. Compare live Aligro offers in the Rappn app.
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Yes, private individuals can shop at Aligro. A customer card is not required to shop, except at the Bern and Pratteln stores. There is no entry fee, and the card itself is free, personal and valid indefinitely (source: aligro.ch FAQ). Private shoppers get the Gourmet card, while professionals get the Profi card with a permanent 2% discount.
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Do you need a card or an entry fee to shop at Aligro?
Aligro is a Swiss cash-and-carry wholesaler, but unlike most of the genre it is explicitly open to everyone: private individuals, gastro professionals, retailers, clubs, associations and companies (source: aligro.ch FAQ). You do not need to prove a business, sign up for a membership or pay anything at the door. The Aligro entry fee many people search for simply does not exist: access is free, and in 12 of the 14 stores you can walk in without any card at all.
The two exceptions are Bern and Pratteln. There, Aligro says the customer card is mandatory for legal reasons (source: aligro.ch FAQ). The company does not spell out the details. In practice it just means you request the free card in advance, or load it onto your smartphone, and you shop as usual.
Which Aligro cards exist, and who gets which one?
Aligro issues four card types, all free of charge (source: aligro.ch, customer benefits page):
| Card | Who it is for | Main benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Gourmet | Private individuals | Access to all stores, personalised offers, digital receipts |
| Profi | Gastronomy and food retail professionals | Permanent 2% professional discount on the whole range |
| Business | Companies, self-employed, associations, administrations | Professional conditions for business purchases |
| Starter | Apprentices in gastronomy and bakery trades | Professional benefits for the whole apprenticeship |
On top of that come category discounts of up to 20% and over 2,000 weekly promotions across a range of roughly 30,000 articles (source: aligro.ch, customer benefits page). One rule worth knowing: the card is personal and may only be used by the cardholder (source: aligro.ch terms and conditions).
How to get the Aligro customer card
You request the card online via the application form on aligro.ch. Pick your profile, private customer, food professional, company or association, or apprentice in a gastronomy trade, enter your contact details, and the card is issued in your name. You can also add it as a digital card to your smartphone wallet (source: aligro.ch, card application).
The customer account is genuinely useful if you shop there regularly: promo alerts for products you follow, personalised offers based on your shopping habits, shopping lists, and digital receipts by email. The Aligro Resto Club additionally lets you collect credit for the in-store restaurants while you shop (source: aligro.ch, customer area).
Private vs professional: prices with or without VAT?
The biggest difference between private and professional customers is how prices are shown. The professional prices printed in the flyer, on the website and in advertising are quoted excluding VAT, with the discount already deducted (source: aligro.ch terms and conditions). As a private shopper you pay VAT on top at the till, currently 2.6% on food and 8.1% on most other items, and the 2% professional discount does not apply to you.
The rule of thumb when reading the flyer: professional price plus VAT is roughly your price as a private customer. For businesses that reclaim input VAT, the price excluding VAT is the number that matters. So never compare Aligro flyer prices 1:1 with supermarket shelf prices, which in Switzerland always include VAT. That apples-to-oranges trap is exactly where a neutral check in Rappn helps, with offers prepared comparably across chains.
Are Prodega or TopCC cards valid at Aligro?
Do not count on it. Aligro, Prodega and TopCC are three independent companies, each with its own card. Prodega belongs to Transgourmet, part of the Coop group, and requires a registered business (source: transgourmet.ch), while TopCC is the cash-and-carry arm of the SPAR group. Aligro publishes nothing about accepting third-party cards. In practice this barely matters: outside Bern and Pratteln you need no card at all, and Aligro's own card takes a few minutes to request for free.
| Wholesale market | Who can shop | Card required? |
|---|---|---|
| Aligro (Demaurex) | Everyone, including private individuals | No, except Bern and Pratteln; card is free |
| Prodega (Transgourmet, Coop group) | Customers with a registered business | Yes, personal customer card |
| TopCC (SPAR group) | Professionals and private shoppers | Yes, shopping card for access |
Details on Prodega and TopCC per transgourmet.ch and reports by Luzerner Zeitung and watson.ch. Conditions can change, so the providers' own pages are authoritative.
Is the trip worth it? Aligro offers live in Rappn
Aligro runs 14 stores across German- and French-speaking Switzerland, including Schlieren, Spreitenbach, Emmen, Bern, Pratteln, Frauenfeld, Gossau SG, Rapperswil-Jona, Sargans and Brüttisellen, plus Chavannes, Geneva, Matran and Sion; there is currently no store in Ticino (source: aligro.ch, company page). For what actually awaits you inside, from bulk packs to the fresh counters, see the guide to Aligro Switzerland: products and prices, and for how the 2,000+ weekly promotions work, see the Aligro deals in Switzerland.
Whether the drive to a wholesale market pays off depends on the price of each product on your list. In Rappn you see current Aligro promotions live next to Migros, Coop, Aldi, Lidl, Denner and Otto's, searchable by product, category, price and canton. 100% free, no card and no entry fee.
Sources checked regularly: aligro.ch (FAQ, customer benefits, card application, terms and conditions, company page), transgourmet.ch, plus Luzerner Zeitung and watson.ch on TopCC.
Sources checked: .
Check Aligro's current wholesale deals before your first trip: live offers next to supermarket prices, so you see when bulk actually wins. Type a product to try it.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can private individuals shop at Aligro?
Yes. According to its own FAQ, Aligro is open to everyone: private individuals, gastro professionals, retailers, clubs, associations and companies. You need no business and no membership. A customer card is only mandatory at the Bern and Pratteln stores; everywhere else you can walk in without one (source: aligro.ch).
Does Aligro charge an entry fee?
No. Access to Aligro stores is free, and there is no entry or membership fee. The customer card is also free, personal and valid indefinitely (source: aligro.ch FAQ). In Bern and Pratteln, however, the free card is a condition for entering the store.
How much does the Aligro customer card cost?
Nothing. All four card types are free: Gourmet for private shoppers, Profi for gastronomy and food retail professionals, Business for companies and associations, Starter for apprentices. The card is personal, valid indefinitely and can also be added as a digital card to your smartphone wallet (source: aligro.ch).
Is the Prodega card valid at Aligro?
There is no published statement that Aligro accepts Prodega or TopCC cards; they are independent companies with their own cards. In practice you need no card at Aligro anyway, except in Bern and Pratteln, and you can request Aligro’s own card online for free (source: aligro.ch, transgourmet.ch).
Why is the card mandatory in Bern and Pratteln?
Aligro states in its FAQ that the customer card is mandatory at the Bern and Pratteln stores for legal reasons, without giving details. The card is free and quick to request, so shopping there is not a problem in practice (source: aligro.ch FAQ).
Are Aligro prices shown with or without VAT?
The professional prices in the flyer, on the website and in advertising are quoted excluding VAT, with the discount already deducted, according to Aligro’s terms and conditions. As a private shopper you pay VAT on top at the till, currently 2.6% on food and 8.1% on most other items (source: aligro.ch).