The military brand mandate by Parliament in 2013 and the development and implementation of the Swiss Confederation’s military brand strategy is closely linked with the company Victorinox, whose Swiss officer’s knife has become the world-renowned icon «Swiss Army Knife». Since 1996, the Swiss Confederation has supported Victorinox in its brand protection and defensive struggle against Chinese imitators in particular, and is linked in partnership with this company through the exclusive contract from 2004, which is currently valid and concerns the brand «Swiss Army» on the basis of trademark law. armasuisse recognises the global rights of Victorinox to the brand «Swiss Army» for knifeware and the exclusive right to use this trademark in the respective countries. The current licensed products concern watches and perfumes. A partnership also exists at the procurement law level, in that Victorinox has been supplying the Swiss Armed Forces for a good century with the soldier’s knife, a version of the officer’s knife developed for the military.

Victorinox has been the exclusive reliable partner for the «Swiss Army» brand for many years.

The licence agreement with the company Chrono AG concerning «Swiss Military by Chrono» watches was concluded in 2014 and since then Chrono AG has been a reliable licence partner.

The licence agreement with the company Hanowa AG concerning «Swiss Military Hanowa» watches was concluded in 2014 and since then Hanowa AG has been a reliable licence partner.

The current licence agreement with the company Breitling AG concerning «Patrouille Suisse» edition watches was concluded in 2016. Breitling produces precision timepieces in the luxury segment and has issued several limited chronograph editions since the 1990s in cooperation with Patrouille Suisse, as in 2014 for the 50th anniversary of the aerobatic squadron. Since then, Breitling AG has been a reliable licence partner. The extremely robust and shockproof quality watches of the «Avenger» collection meet the high requirements in the cockpits and the needs of aerobatic pilots. They are part of Breitling’s wide range of pilot watches.

In 2021, armasuisse concluded an exclusive licence agreement covering several product categories for the brands «Swiss Military» and «Swiss Air Force» with the company swiss brands AG. The development of a premium brand is envisaged and is part of the licence agreement. The licensed products include chocolate, cosmetics, drinking bottles, outdoor blankets as well as blankets for domestic use. swiss brands AG is contractually obliged to design the BSS (brand strategy and standards) for the military brands and is thus of major importance for the further development of the armasuisse military brand mandate.

To swiss brands

The licence agreement with the company Kambly concerning «Swiss Military» Biscuits was concluded in 2022. Kambly has wide experience in the manufacture and sale of military biscuits and has been an official licence partner since 2022.

To Kambly

The licensing income is used to finance global brand protection, brand management, the process costs and other brand-related expenses. Remaining amounts are transferred annually to the Federal Treasury. The licensing income fluctuates. In 2022, it amounted to around a million Swiss Francs.