Tea, Hot Chocolate, Ovo and Ice Tea in Switzerland: The 2026 Price Guide

Switzerland is a coffee country with one strange exception: ice tea. Migros sells more than 50 million litres of Kult Ice Tea a year out of its Bischofszell factory, and the country drinks around 30 litres of iced tea per person per year, more than any other country in Europe. Add the Swiss-specific cluster of Ovomaltine, Caotina and hot lemon, and you have a hot- and cold-drink category that looks nothing like France, Italy or Germany next door. This is where to buy each of them, and what they actually cost in 2026.

Sources checked: May 2026. Wander AG corporate site (Caotina and Ovomaltine production at Neuenegg); A. Kuster Sirocco AG company record (founded 1908, canton Schwyz); Migros Industrie Bischofszell publications on Kult Ice Tea (1984 launch, ~50 M L per year); Coopération magazine on Caotina brand awareness. Prices verified in Zurich, April to May 2026.

Rappn is the only neutral grocery price comparison app in Switzerland, with no commercial agreements with any retailer.

The Swiss tea landscape, from M-Classic to Sirocco

Tea in Switzerland is sold across three clear price tiers.

Entry tier (CHF 0.05 to CHF 0.12 per bag). Supermarket private labels. M-Classic at Migros, Prix Garantie at Coop, Milbona-equivalent at Lidl, the Aldi own-label range. Black tea, green tea, fruit and herbal infusions, mostly in 20- to 25-bag boxes priced around CHF 1.50 to CHF 2.50. Quality is fine for everyday use. A box lasts most households about three weeks.

Mid tier (CHF 0.15 to CHF 0.30 per bag). Recognised international and Swiss-Group brands. Lipton, Twinings, Pukka, Yogi, Tetley, Coop Naturaplan organic, Migros Bio. Better leaf grade, more interesting blends, sometimes organic or Fair Trade. Boxes of 20 bags typically CHF 3.50 to CHF 6. Available everywhere from Migros and Coop to Aldi and Lidl, though the specific brand availability varies.

Premium tier (CHF 0.35 to CHF 1.20 per bag). Sirocco at the top, plus boutique entrants like Länggass-Tee and Avantcha. Sirocco is the Swiss premium reference: family-owned A. Kuster Sirocco AG, founded 1908 on Upper Lake Zurich, hand-stitched cotton sachets, own Moroccan-mint plantation in Marrakesh, organic-certified, Ethical Tea Partnership member. Boxes of 20 sachets typically CHF 8 to CHF 14. Sold mostly at Coop, Manor Food and direct on sirocco.ch.

For the cheapest run-rate cup at home, M-Classic or Prix Garantie at around CHF 0.06 per bag is essentially uncatchable. For everyday quality, Twinings or Pukka on Aktion (which happens roughly every 4 to 6 weeks at both Migros and Coop) lands close to mid-tier prices for branded quality. For gifting or true tea-drinker households, Sirocco is the obvious step up.

Black, green, herbal, fruit: where to buy what

Different categories favour different retailers in 2026.

Lidl Schweiz rotates teas in and out of its weekly themed shelves, which means specific Lidl picks come and go. Aldi Suisse has a steadier core range. Manor Food and Globus are useful for harder-to-find premium imports (Mariage Frères, Kusmi, Dammann) but at a markup.

Hot chocolate, Ovo and Caotina: the Swiss-specific cluster

The category Swiss shoppers actually mean when they say "hot drinks" is wider than tea. It includes the country's two heritage brands: Ovomaltine and Caotina. And the underappreciated trivia is that both are made by the same company, Wander AG, in the same factory in Neuenegg near Bern.

Ovomaltine (called Ovaltine outside Switzerland) was invented by Dr. Albert Wander in 1904. Malt extract, milk, cocoa and eggs, designed originally as a fortified nutrition drink. Wander AG today makes Ovo in its Neuenegg factory in canton Bern and exports it to over 100 countries. Wander is owned by Associated British Foods, the same conglomerate that owns Twinings, Primark and Kingsmill. Pricing in Swiss supermarkets: a 500g tin runs CHF 9 to CHF 12 at Migros and Coop, dropping to CHF 7 to CHF 8 on Aktion. Lidl carries the brand at around CHF 8.50, Aldi similar. Otto's occasionally has it at deep discount as part of its opportunistic buying.

Caotina was invented by Wander in 1963, during the winter when Lake Constance froze solid. Same factory in Neuenegg as Ovo. Three varieties: Caotina Original (renamed from "Caotina surfin" in 2012), Caotina Blanc (white chocolate) and Caotina Noir (dark chocolate, launched 2005). The formula is 7% real Swiss chocolate plus 19% reduced-fat cocoa powder, which is what makes it taste closer to hot chocolate than to a cocoa-powder drink. According to Coop's Coopération magazine, 92% of Swiss adults recognise the Caotina brand. Pricing: 500g tin CHF 11 to CHF 14 at Migros and Coop, CHF 8.50 to CHF 10 on Aktion. Caotina is genuinely cheaper at Denner and Aldi than at the two big chains on a normal week.

Hot chocolate alternatives. Beyond Caotina, the regular options are Suchard Express (Mondelez), Nesquik (Nestlé), and supermarket private labels. Private labels are 30% to 50% cheaper but use cocoa powder rather than real chocolate, which is the gap Caotina is built to fill. For seriously good drinking chocolate, Cailler and Lindt sell pure-cocoa or chocolate-shavings versions for CHF 12 to CHF 25 per pack. See the wider Swiss chocolate prices guide for context.

Hot lemon. A Swiss winter staple. Sold as instant sachets under M-Classic, Sidroga, Bschüssig and Vivay brands. Single-serve sachet prices range from CHF 0.30 (private label) to CHF 0.80 (Bschüssig with vitamins).

Ice tea: the Swiss obsession

Switzerland drinks roughly 30 litres of iced tea per person per year, which makes it the European champion in the category by a wide margin. The history starts with Migros launching the original Kult Ice Tea in 1984 at its Bischofszell facility, after years of development to solve the microbiological challenges of bottling brewed tea at scale. The recipe has not changed since 1984.

Today the Migros Kult Ice Tea operation produces around 50 million litres per year across eight flavours (the original lemon, plus peach, hibiscus, green tea, Alpine herbs and others), pulling more than 100 tonnes of imported tea leaves through tank brewing each year. Coop's response is Pop Ice Tea, sold primarily under the Coop brand and Prix Garantie. Lipton Ice Tea is the dominant international branded option, available at all chains. Nestea (Nestlé), Schweppes and Volvic also play in the bottled segment.

Aktion pricing matters more on ice tea than almost any other category, since the regular price difference between Migros Kult Ice Tea (CHF 1.30 to CHF 1.50 for 1.5L) and Lipton Ice Tea (CHF 2.50 to CHF 3) is significant. Migros and Coop run their respective ice teas on rotating Aktion every 3 to 4 weeks, often at CHF 1.00 per 1.5L. Lidl and Aldi sell their own-brand ice teas (Saskia, Quellfrisch) at the lowest absolute prices, around CHF 0.85 to CHF 1.10 per 1.5L on a normal week.

For the wider picture on bottled drinks see the bottled water prices in Switzerland guide, and pair tea decisions with the parallel Swiss coffee prices guide.

Per-cup cost reality

A quick comparison of what your hot or cold drink actually costs per serving in 2026.

A cup of basic private-label black tea is around 30 times cheaper than a Lipton ice tea from the same shelf at the same supermarket. The price gap inside the same category (private label to premium) is usually around 8x to 10x. The gap between hot chocolate brands narrows dramatically on Aktion, which is when most Swiss households actually buy them.