Do you know Ovomaltine (or Ovaltine UK/USA)? Well, if you are Swiss you certainly do, since Ovomaltine could probably be called one of our national beverages. According to Ovomaltine 99% of the Swiss know Ovomaltine and it is among the 20 most popular brands in Switzerland. Ovomaltine was originally developed in 1904 by a pharmacist as a nurturing product for children and sick people. It is an instant powder with barley malt as a main ingredient designed to be dissolved in warm or cold milk and has a unique malty taste. The original Ovomaltine contains no refined sugar and is only available in Switzerland. The reason why Ovomaltine is called Ovaltine in many other countries is a misselling in the trademark registration when Ovomaltine was exported to Britain in 1909. Ovomaltine/ Ovaltine is now available in more than 100 countries.
Nowadays a lot of Swiss children still have a cup of Ovomaltine for breakfast because children like it and so do their parents, many of them particularly for the fact that it provides their kids with energy while not containing any refined sugars. But not only children but also adults drink Ovomaltine and love it for its unique malty taste. Back when I went to primary school, I was known to love Ovomaltine as I always had my Ovomaltine with me on school trips. My love for Ovomaltine continued with the years and when Ovomaltine was searching for “Ovomaltine ambassadors” (for one year) almost a year ago, I simply had to apply. In December 2011 I received a letter saying that I was one of the 20 lucky ones and I was jumping for joy! 🙂
My year as an Ovomaltine ambassador has been a blast so far! We are provided with a lot of products for ourselves and to share with friends and family. Needless to say that my popularity status has risen significantly over the course of this years. 😉 One of the highlights was certainly the skiing weekend in March at the Swiss Skiing Championships where we met Didier Cuche, a Swiss skiing legend and Ovomaltine ambassador for a long time. We even went skiing with him for a day which felt quite unreal. This past weekend all of us Ovomaltine ambassdors were invited to the restaurant Uto Kulm for an Ovomaltine Brunch. The restaurant is located on top of the “Üetliberg”, the local mountain of Zürich and a great lookout point, especially when the weather is as beautiful as it was on Sunday. We had a really good time together, the variety on the brunch buffet was pretty impressive and the food delicious. And again we were introduced to a member of the Swiss Skiing Team and Ovomaltine ambassador, Patrick Küng. The Ovomaltine team really spares no effort to spoil us (temporary) Ovomaltine ambassadors. A huge thank you to everyone from Ovomaltine!
*Throughout this year I have been and will be provided with Ovomaltine products and have been invited to events. All words and opinions are my own, however.
Skiing Weekend w/ Didier Cuche
Ovomaltine Brunch
Ovomaltine Muffins/Buns
Ovomaltine Ambassadors
View from Üetliberg
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