Blending globally: the big success of a small Swiss product

For 70 years, Bamix blenders have been manufactured by hand in a small Swiss town, from where they then make their way to kitchens around the world. What’s next on the menu for Bamix? In 1950, Roger Perrinjaquet had a simple but revolutionary idea: why isn’t there a kitchen appliance that can do everything, and which can fit your hand? In 1953 the Swiss man successfully filed a patent request for his idea, which was registered the following year with the name “ESGE’s magic wand for housewives”. A short decade later, in 1960, the hand blender began to be made in a factory in Mettlen, canton Thurgau, and soon found its way into homes around the country. The small corner of northern Switzerland doesn’t look like a world-beating location. Yet from Mettlen, the Bamix appliance is exported and sold in 45 countries. Some 90% of the blenders are exported – to the US, Canada, South Africa, Japan and China, among others. IGermany and Denmark are also key buyers. Meanwhile the Thurgau ...