In their quest for health and wellness via the diet, consumers in Sweden are increasingly looking to organic, additive-free – and high fat products, according to Food Navigator.com.
The report said these were the main trends highlighted by market research Euromonitor in a Health and Wellness report published in July 2010.
More and more Swedish consumers are switching from low-fat to high-fat products in order to lose weight, picking up on a trend that was noticeable several years ago, but that has since accelerated, the report said.
“The trend has been spurred by diets such as the Atkins diet, and more recently by the LCHF diet, or the Low-Carb High-Fat diet. The Low-Carb High-Fat diet bears a resemblance to the Atkins diet, with the LCHF diet mainly promoted by the physician and popular blogger Annika Dahlqvist,” the report quoted Euromonitor saying.
The LCHF, which diet promotes the use of saturated fats, has gained significant attention in the Swedish media, despite being regarded as controversial by many people, says the researcher.
In addition, consumers in Sweden as in several western European regions, particularly the UK, are also avoiding products containing certain additives regarded as harmful. These include trans fats, monosodium glutamate and artificial sweeteners.
The report notes that many manufacturers in Sweden have started to respond to the increased demand for food and beverages that are free from artificial additives and, in 2009, Procordia Food announced that it would stop using monosodium glutamate in its products.
Organic foods and beverages continue to be important for Swedish consumers, with strong sales in 2009 despite the tightened economy. However, growth rates – which peaked in 2008 – have suffered from a lack of supply of organic ingredients,” the Euromonitor report said.
It added that Swedish dairies have started to raise the prices they pay for organic milk in order to increase the number of organic dairy farmers.
The supply of fresh organic bread has also suffered from the fact that large bakeries with a nationwide coverage are unwilling to bake organic bread, which is still baked in relatively small numbers.
The increasing demand for organic food and beverages also led to a number of private label developments, noted the researcher.
Swedish consumers have also started to seek out locally produced goods, as they become more concerned about their health or more environmentally conscious.
“Marketing the food as locally produced has become a new way for manufacturers to target such consumers.” – Source: Food Navigator