Swedish food – the biggest and the best

Just returned home from Lyon, where I followed Bocuse d’Or, the World Championships of cooking, I can establish that the Swedish culinary skills stand strong. Our well-trained star chef Tommy Myllymäki came in third place in the well esteemed competition. In informed culinary circuits, amongst so-called foodies, the Swedish cooking wonder and the Scandinavian kitchen have been trendy for many years. This is also starting to show when it comes to the demand of food produced in Sweden.

The Swedish food export grew with more than 10 per cent in 2014. When you last found yourself in a bar ordering an exclusive drink, it’s not improbable that you had one of the biggest Swedish export successes of all times in your glass – Absolut Vodka. The export of Absolut Vodka reaches billions in SEK every year, and the drink is sold all over the world. But it’s not just liquor that’s become a success story. Italians love our peas. Half of the Swedish pea production is bought by meticulous Italians. The soil in Skåne, southern Sweden, is the best place in the world to grow peas. Our Swedish way of roasting coffee beans is in demand in other parts of the world, and we sell more and more of it abroad. Almondy’s frozen cakes are in demand in China, and Västerbottensost
[Västerbotten cheese] has found new buyers in Germany and the UK.

The best in the world

The Swedish food industry now exports produce for a higher value than several other traditional industries in Sweden. More than pharmaceuticals. More than
telecoms. More than cars. More than lorries. More than steel. In the future we will live off food in more than one sense. Food export creates jobs, often in rural areas, and welfare for the entire nation. For me, as a representative for the food industry, with great insight into how we handle and create food in Sweden, I understand why this industry is growing. The Swedish food is the best in the world. No other country uses as little antibiotics in animal farming as Sweden. No other country has tougher rules governing food production. Combining
a national competence in innovation and industrial processing, we’ve created a
system that generates food very high in quality. A greater consciousness of
food’s impact on our health, a trend that has gained a strong foothold not only in
Sweden, makes it likely that Swedish food will take up increasing space on the
global culinary scene.

By Marie Söderqvist, Director General of the Swedish Food Federation, Published in SCAN Magazine issue 73 – February 2015 | Photos: Carolina Romare/imagebank.sweden.se

To find companies and organisations within the Swedish food industry, please visit our SEARCH – The Ultimate E-Resource for Scandinavian food and culinary experiences.