A growing number of Swedes are now buying sliced cheese. Arla Foods launched sliced cheese in Sweden three years ago and sales are now running at 250 tons per year and accounting for 1% of total cheese sales. Although this share is comparatively small, Product Manager in the Sweden Division’s Marketing Department, Åsa Brögger, anticipates that sales will follow trends in Denmark ands Germany over recent years.

Sliced cheese sales increased dramatically when Denmark’s best selling cheese, Riberhus, was launched in a sliced version in 1995. The Malthe, Klovborg and Lillebror brands have since followed so that sliced cheese now accounts for 16% of the total market for firm cheese. Sales of sliced cheese in Germany have also been on the increase in recent years.
“Swedish consumers tend to associate sliced cheese with processed cheese for hamburgers. In addition, the Swedes have a strong tradition for using cheese slicers,” says Åsa Brögger. “This is why it’s been difficult for sliced cheese to take off, but now it looks like the situation is changing.”

The convenience trend, together with the rising number of one-person households in Sweden, is part of the reason for the upturn in sales. Single people now account for over 40% of Swedish households.
“We’re seeing a clear trend among consumers for convenience and simplicity,” adds Åsa Brögger. “A lot of cheese is wasted in single households, but by buying sliced cheese in smaller portions, this is avoided. We’ve also seen that younger consumers opt for sliced cooked meat instead of cheese and we’re hoping to win back these consumers through the sliced cheese packs.”



Arla Foods has launched sliced versions of Sweden’s second and third best selling cheeses – Herrgård and Präst. There are now seven varieties of Arla Foods’ sliced cheese in the Swedish market.