HUG: ‘We see our strongest growth in foreign markets’

In an exclusive interview, Swiss biscuit manufacturer and baker HUG’s two co-CEOs outline the challenges of expanding internationally, which include navigating Switzerland’s powerful agricultural lobby. HUG, a food company known, among others, for its traditional Zwieback rusks, has been in the hands of the same founding family for around 150 years. This hasn’t stopped the two women at the helm of the company from embracing new technologies including the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in advertising campaigns and acquiring new companies. In an interview with Swissinfo, the two co-CEOs say they are committed to keeping the entire value chain in Switzerland despite high costs, and that selling the company to a global conglomerate is off the cards. Strongly rooted in central Switzerland, HUG already sells 14% of its products abroad and considers foreign markets its main engine for future growth. It was at their headquarters in Malters, in canton Lucerne, that Swissinfo sat down ...