How the Bell Food Group is moving forward together

It all began in 1869 in a small butcher's shop owned by a certain Samuel Bell in the center of Basel. A business like many others at the time. Meat was sold in the store, with slaughtering and processing taking place right next door. But Samuel Bell was a visionary businessman and soon set the course for growth. An important prerequisite for this was the decision to separate production and sales. Samuel Bell set up a new production facility on the outskirts of the city and sent his sons abroad to learn the charcuterie trade.

From 1907, Samuel Bell pushed ahead with the transition from an artisan butcher's store to large-scale meat and charcuterie production. A few years later, Bell already had 130 branches throughout Switzerland.

Another milestone followed in 1913, when Bell entered into a cooperation with VSK (today's Coop), thereby securing the company's continued existence. This finally made Bell the largest meat and sausage company in Switzerland. The branch network reached its greatest expansion in 1962 with 172 sales outlets. Bell only parted company with the butcher's shops again in 2004, when the then management decided to concentrate entirely on production from then on.

The entry into the convenience business

As people's consumption habits changed in the boom years after the Second World War, Bell's management once again showed a flair for recognizing promising business areas early on. The product range in the Bell branches was adapted to the increasing prosperity. Bell was one of the first companies to offer prepared meals, salads and sandwiches in its outlets alongside meat and charcuterie. What was then still called "Traiteur" is now one of the hottest and fastest-growing business areas in the food sector under the name "Convenience".

Bell also soon focused on growth in the convenience sector and - as with meat processing - centralized production at its own plant in Schaffisheim. As part of the cooperation agreement with Hilcona, which itself was a pioneer in the convenience sector, this plant was transferred to Hilcona in 2011. In return, Bell received 49 percent of the shares in Hilcona. The cooperation with Hilcona was then gradually expanded. Today, the company is wholly owned by the Bell Food Group.

Growth through acquisitions in Switzerland and abroad Bell made its first major company acquisition in 1969, just in time for its centenary, with Grieder AG in Oensingen. From the end of the 1990s, numerous other acquisitions followed at an increasingly rapid pace. In each case, the aim was to expand expertise and invest in promising business areas. in 1997, the Vaud-based charcuterie company Vuillamy SA was acquired and a year later Bell entered the booming poultry business with the purchase of SEG-Poulet AG. The fresh fish and seafood business was also expanded early on.

With the takeovers of Zimbo and Abraham in Germany and Polette in France, the major expansion abroad finally followed in 2008, which was continued with the acquisition of Austria's largest poultry producer Hubers in 2016.However, the expansion strategy was not only continued in the traditional meat and charcuterie business area. With the acquisition of Eisberg, a pioneer in the production of sliced salads, the company has finally transformed itself from a pure meat processor into an international food group with several strong pillars. Today, the Group generates a significant proportion of its turnover with convenience products and fresh cut salads.

Bell Group becomes Bell Food Group

As a logical consequence of the growth strategy of recent years, the Board of Directors of the former Bell Group decided to change the company's name to Bell Food Group. The shareholders approved the plan at the Annual General Meeting in April 2017.

With the name change, the brand strategy and thus the structure of the company were also adjusted. The Bell Food Group is now one level below the three business divisions Bell, Hilcona and Eisberg, which also form the three strategic brands of the Bell Food Group with their focus on meat/charcuterie, convenience and sliced salads.

With the new name and the new structure, a process was initiated to give the Bell Food Group its own visual appearance and identity, in which all business areas are equally reflected. To this end, a new corporate identity (CI) was developed for the Bell Food Group in collaboration with the branding agency SNK in Zurich. On the one hand, the CI should guarantee an unmistakable appearance for the Bell Food Group and at the same time provide a framework for the three strategic brands Bell, Hilcona and Eisberg without competing with them. This is because the established brands will continue to take center stage at the business unit and product level.

The most important trademark of the new CI is the newly developed logo with the gray font and the three characteristic circles, which stand for the three corporate values of the Bell Food Group: Enjoyment, Quality and Sustainability. These are the three values that all of the Bell Food Group's divisions have in common and they form the basis for the company's successful future.

Quality

With a great deal of technical expertise and state-of-the-art production processes, we guarantee the highest quality across the Bell Food Group's entire product portfolio. So consumers always know: what comes from the Bell Food Group is good.

Enjoyment

The Bell Food Group provides a wide range of high-quality, fresh foods for a variety of enjoyable experiences - and thus for a better quality of life. We are always close to consumers and their needs, because we want to offer a convincing product for every culinary desire.

Sustainability

The Bell Food Group promotes sustainability with extensive production expertise and incorporates sustainability aspects into all decisions. We take responsibility - for our products, for resource efficiency and climate protection as well as towards our employees and society.