ifolor celebrates anniversary: 60 years of photos for life

The Swiss photo product market leader is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year with special discounts, an online memory game and a magical new photo product.

Originally founded in 1961 under the name “Photocolor Kreuzlingen AG” as a photo laboratory for major customers, ifolor is now one of Switzerland’s 25 highest-grossing e-commerce companies, employs around 250 people and is active in 15 countries – as the photo product market leader in Switzerland and Finland. Founder Peter Schwarz returned to Switzerland after a study trip to the USA and revolutionised the business by launching Switzerland’s first mail-order photo service in 1968, serving consumers directly without intermediaries. In doing so, he laid the foundation for the family business, which his son Philipp Schwarz took over in 1981 and which is now led by his son Hannes Schwarz as CEO. The headquarters, and at the same time ifolor’s largest production site, is located in Kreuzlingen on Lake Constance. A second production site is in Kerava, Finland, serving the Nordic markets.
Between 1968 and 1984, the company was called “Photo-Ciné Service”; after that, it was known as “Photocolor” until 2006. The name ifolor dates back to 2007 and is composed of “Photocolor” as well as “Fotolabo Club” and “ifi” – the latter two providers were acquired in 2006.

Photo product pioneer from the very beginningifolor has always demonstrated a pioneering spirit in the field of photo products. When 35mm film also became popular among amateur photographers in the early 1980s, it did not fit through the slot of the yellow Swiss postbox for postal submission for development. To save the business, ifolor pulled out all the stops, and Swiss Post, for whom the business was also lucrative, retrofitted postboxes nationwide with a punched-out opening for film in the slot. Another challenge emerged around the turn of the millennium, when digital photography arrived and displaced analogue film. Photos now arrived in Kreuzlingen via CD, diskette or USB stick. ifolor adapted the business and offered Switzerland’s first online photo service from 2000. At the same time, it was necessary to demonstrate the advantages of tactile photo products over viewing photos on screens. ifolor immediately recognised the potential of no longer having to stick photos into albums by hand, but instead designing everything digitally on a computer, and responded in 2005 with the first photo book ordering software for Windows. “The images went directly from the home computer into production as a fully designed photo book. The spirit of optimism was sensational,” recalls then CEO Philipp Schwarz. Around twelve years later, there was another technological leap, because with the rise of tablets and smartphones, the corresponding app software was also needed for designing photo products on mobile devices. ifolor has always excelled at responding to technological change and evolving needs. It is therefore no surprise that in 2017, ifolor was selected by Apple as one of only five companies worldwide to be integrated as a third-party provider into its “Photos” app. In the same year, the marketing and software department was founded in Zurich in order to be closer to the country’s most innovative developers. The successful recent years were crowned with the GfM Marketing Award 2020.

From analogue photos to printed cushionsifolor’s success story began with the development of analogue 35mm films. Today, in addition to photo prints, the product universe consists of numerous other tangible memories. These include photo books, photo calendars, photo greeting cards, wall decorations and a wide range of photo gifts. These include puzzles, smartphone cases, photo mugs, photo stickers, the SIGG drinking bottle and the brand-new photo memory game consisting of 48 cards. Photo products that make the home even cosier and more comfortable are also becoming increasingly popular, whether printed cushions, blankets, coasters or wall decorations. Several further product launches are planned in the “Living” segment for 2021.

A magical photo product for the anniversaryAs a new announcement, ifolor presents the “Magic Postcard”. This special postcard – available for a limited period of 60 days to mark the 60th anniversary – lives up to its name. What appears to be an ordinary postcard with a front image reveals its magic when the QR code printed on the postcard is scanned with a smartphone. When the smartphone camera is then held over the postcard, a video embedded by the sender during creation plays on the screen. Thanks to augmented reality, this video appears as if attached to the front of the postcard. Until 10 July, photo enthusiasts can send one “Magic Postcard” free of charge every day: www.ifolor.ch/magic-postcard. “The Magic Postcard expresses what ifolor has stood for over the past 60 years: the tactile experience of memories. And in this case, we interpret it in a very modern way with a digital experience,” says CEO Hannes Schwarz.

Further anniversary specialsIn addition to numerous discount campaigns over the coming weeks, an anniversary website provides exciting facts about the company’s history: 60jahre.ifolor.ch. Online, the “Memo Game” provides entertainment: memogame.ifolor.ch. The leaderboard shows the best participants, among whom an iPhone 12 mini and ifolor vouchers are raffled off each month. At the end of the year, several grand prizes can be won: 1st prize is e-bikes and bicycles from Tour de Suisse worth CHF 8,000. 2nd prize is a Kuoni holiday voucher worth CHF 6,000, and for 3rd to 6th place there are again e-bikes and bicycles with a total value of CHF 4,000 each.
The online Memo Game has a new theme each month. In August, for example, ifolor is looking for the most beautiful summer holiday photos from the past 60 years in a photo competition. The winning images will be used as memo card motifs. In addition, to mark the anniversary, the iconic photo sleeves in which photo prints are sent are being given a new look. They are now designed with three holiday motifs that awaken wanderlust.

ifolor makes unforgettable moments come alive again in personalised photo products. Our range includes high-quality products such as photo books, photo calendars, photo greeting cards, wall decorations, photo gifts and photos. As a family business founded in 1961, we combine tradition with innovation and have operated as a climate-neutral business since 2012. ifolor is active in fifteen countries, employs around 240 people and generates annual revenue of more than CHF 100 million. We produce our popular photo products at our Swiss headquarters in Kreuzlingen. www.ifolor.ch

Media contact
Ifolor AG
Michel Nellen
Sonnenwiesenstrasse 2
8280 Kreuzlingen
Tel.: +41 (0)71 686 54 95
Email: pr@ifolor.ch