For the first time, a number of organizations in the Swedish food industry have jointly produced a report on the market for organic and KRAV-labeled foods. The report "Organic annual report 2021" provides an overall picture of the situation regarding sales of organic food and beverages in Sweden. For the first time, sales directly from farm to consumer are also reported.

The investment is a new collaboration between Ekologiska Lantbrukarna, Organic Sweden and Ekomatcentrum with KRAV, LRF and Livsmedelsföretagen in a reference group. 

 - It is important for companies in the entire food chain that we have an overall picture of how the eco-market develops in different categories and carefully analyze what drives development. The hope is that this will lead to increased knowledge and create a basis for new initiatives, product and business development and investments in organic food and beverages, says Charlotte Bladh André, CEO of Organic Sweden.

The report is based on sales statistics from both Nielsen, GfK and Statistics Sweden, as well as surveys among companies and consumers conducted by Kantar Sifo and Ipsos, among others. The report's analyzes and conclusions are produced by Niclas Åkeson, journalist and market analyst Lars Jonasson.

For the first time, direct sales between organic farmers and consumers have been measured with a survey sent to all organic farmers. The results indicate an increased interest among Swedish consumers to shop organically directly from the farmer. Both this and specific consumer surveys show that the interest and demand for organic and KRAV-marked is strong, but that the supply is often poor in many stores. The grocery trade is also the only channel where sales declined in 2021.

- So far, direct sales are not so large in actual figures, but it is growing and shows that consumer interest is great for our products. In the long run, we believe that it will lead to more peasant power and greater transparency in the industry, says Erika Olsson, chairman of Ekologiska Lantbrukarna.

The report also shows that the share of organic in the public sector remains at a very high level.

Some key figures from the report on the eco market 2021:

The organic share of the sales value for food in Sweden was 8,9 percent. Organic food was sold for a total of 34,2 billion. Compared with 2020, this is a decrease of 0,5 percent.

Sales in the grocery trade are declining despite consumers stating that they value animal welfare and freedom from chemical pesticides highly.

At Systembolaget, sales of organic drinks increased by SEK 400 million.

In the public sector, organic purchases increased by approximately SEK 330 million.

In the private restaurant sector, organic purchases increased by approximately SEK 200 million.

Sales directly from farm to consumer are increasing, about 7 percent of all sales of fresh organic meat took place via Reko-rings and farm shops.

Companies that have a large share of organic in their product range experience better profitability than companies with a small share of organic.

The ecologically used area in Sweden is decreasing right now. Between 2019 and 2023, it is estimated to decrease by 26 hectares.

The whole report can be download and read here

For more information contact: 

Charlotte Bladh André, CEO Organic Sweden
070-188 50 19, charlotte.andre@organicsweden.se