Betty Bossi is a Swiss cookbook publisher.Engeler, Eliane. "Swiss seek to settle debate over the true fondue." Associated Press at USA Today. 12 October 2009. Retrieved on 24 September 2012. Alternates: From the Victoria Advocate, From The Star, from the Rutland Herald. The Betty Bossi brand published various cookbooks and newsletters, and sponsored various cooking contests.Genosko in Clarke et al p. 84. Shirley Eu-Wong, author of Culture shock!: Switzerland, mentioned that Betty Bossi's "recipe booklets can be found in almost any Swiss-Romande kitchen cabinet."Eu-Wong p. 126. The brand is operated by Betty Bossi AG/Betty Bossi SA, headquartered in Zurich,"Impressum." (German) Betty Bossi. Retrieved on 24 September 2012. "Betty Bossi AG Bürglistrasse 29 CH-8021 Zürich""Impressum." (French) Betty Bossi. Retrieved on 24 September 2012. "Betty Bossi SA Bürglistrasse 29 CH-8021 Zurich" which is owned by the Coop group.
History
The name originates from "Betty Bossi", a fictional character created in the mid-1950s, taking inspiration from Betty Crocker. Gary Genosko, author of "Better than butter: Margarine and simulation," said that the character "Betty Bossi" was "a kind of Franco-Swiss Betty Crocker". Bossi was said to be the inventor of "tartines," a bread-and-butter snack.
From 1956 the oil and fat producer Astra published the Betty Bossi Post as free information for consumers. In 1977 it became the Betty Bossi Zeitung. Fachzeitschrift für Kochen und Haushalten (Betty Bossi newspaper: journal for cooking and housekeeping), which was called Betty Bossi from 1993; in 2005 it had a circulation of 900,000 in German and French, mainly by subscription. The first cookbook appeared in 1973, followed by two or three new ones every year. Cooking and household appliances were also sold, and a cooking school was run. Betty Bossi Verlag AG was founded in 1977 within the Swiss Unilever group and was taken over by Ringier in 1995; in 1999 it had total sales of 65 million francs. From 2001 Betty Bossi was owned half by the media company Ringier and half by the retailer Coop, which from then on sold products under the Betty Bossi label. The publisher produced the cooking program al dente, broadcast on Swiss German television from 2001 to 2010 and on French-speaking Swiss television from 2005 to 2017 (from 2011 only with the publisher's financial participation). The widely used cookbooks and other successful products have had a lasting influence on Swiss households.
For a period of time around 2003, Swiss International Air Lines offered a buy on board service in economy class on European flights generally 70 minutes or longer, with menu items from Betty Bossi."Swiss Economy Food and drinks Europe." () Swiss International Air Lines. 14 May 2004. Retrieved on 24 September 2012.
In 2012 the company was purchased outright by Coop, which had previously taken a 50% stake in 2001."Coop kauft «Betty Bossi»." 20 Minuten. 21 December 2012. Retrieved on 20 June 2019.
After its initial investment Coop launched a range of Betty Bossi-branded convenience foods in its stores, which as of 2018 had expanded to around 1,400 lines."Betty Bossi factsheet." Coop. 31 December 2018. Retrieved on 20 June 2019.
In 2025 a movie "Hallo Betty" came out which describes the story of Emmi Creola, the advertising copywriter who created Betti.‘Hello Betty,’ True Story Behind Swiss Icon, Boarded by Picture Tree, Trailer Premieres
See also Swiss cuisine
References Eu-Wong, Shirley. Culture shock!: Switzerland. Graphic Arts Center Pub. Co., 1996. , 9781558682481. Limited preview available on Google Books. Est. 1986 Genosko, Gary. "Better than butter: Margarine and simulation." - in Clarke, David B., Marcus A. Doel, William Merrin, and Richard G. Smith (editors). Jean Baudrillard: Fatal Theories. Routledge, 2009. , 9781134040711. Available on Google Books.
Notes
External links Official website