Organic production contributes to several important sustainability benefits, including biodiversity, reduced use of chemical pesticides, diversified crop rotation and high standards of animal welfare. Axfood therefore remains committed to its target for organic food to account for at least 10 percent of sales by 2030, as highlighted in the 2025 Organic Market Report.
Helena Allard, Sustainability Innovator Axfood and Peter Hellström, Head of Sustainability Communication Axfood
The Organic Market Report is published annually by the industry association Organic Sweden, in collaboration with Ekologiska Lantbrukarna (Swedish Organic Farmers) and KRAV. The report provides a comprehensive overview of developments in Sweden’s organic food market and production, including statistics on sales, volumes, agricultural land and production. It also examines consumer attitudes towards organic food, developments in other European countries and examples of initiatives by different stakeholders to strengthen the market.
This year’s report shows that sales of organic food declined by 2 percent in 2025, while total food sales increased. Organic products consequently accounted for 3.7 percent of grocery retail sales, compared with 3.9 percent the previous year. Sweden’s organic production capacity also continued to decline, reflected in factors such as a reduction in organically farmed land and fewer organically raised animals.
Organic production addresses several sustainability challenges
For Axfood, organic food is an important part of the transition towards more sustainable food production. Organic production methods restrict the use of chemically synthesised pesticides and mineral fertilisers and include requirements relating to areas such as crop rotation and animal welfare. Organic production can also reduce dependence on imported agricultural inputs and contribute to greater biodiversity in agricultural landscapes.
“Organic production addresses several important sustainability challenges at the same time – from reducing chemical use and improving crop rotation to animal welfare and climate-related issues. This makes it an important part of the transition towards a more sustainable food system,” says Helena Allard, Sustainability Innovator at Axfood.
Axfood is the only Swedish grocery retail company with a public target to increase the share of organic food sales to at least 10 percent by 2030. The target is used to track progress and guide the Group’s work on assortment, product development, customer offerings and communication.
In 2025, organic food accounted for 3.9 percent of Axfood’s sales, compared with 4.2 percent the previous year. This was slightly above the grocery retail market average of 3.7 percent, but still well below the 10 percent target. This highlights the need for sustained, long-term efforts to increase both demand for and supply of organic food.
Axfood’s retail chains actively promote organically produced products through initiatives including campaigns and increased in-store visibility. The ambition is to make organic products a natural part of everyday grocery shopping. Expanding the range of organic staple foods and, over time, increasing the availability of lower-priced organic alternatives are important parts of the chains’ efforts.
Action is needed across the entire food value chain
In-store initiatives need to be complemented by measures that create the long-term conditions required for organic production. When demand declines and profitability deteriorates, it becomes more difficult for farmers to invest in and transition to organic production.
In its Food 2030 report, Axfood therefore proposes, among other measures, that Sweden introduce a national target for organic production. Axfood also advocates economic policy measures that make sustainable choices more accessible to consumers, such as reducing or abolishing VAT on sustainability-certified food products.
“What happens at the store shelf is not enough. The right conditions for organic farming and production also need to be in place, and these are created much earlier in the value chain. Long-term political decisions are needed to give farmers better opportunities to invest and develop their operations,” says Peter Hellström, Head of Sustainability Communications at Axfood.
Axfood is one of the funders of the 2025 Organic Market Report. The report is produced by Organic Sweden in collaboration with Ekologiska Lantbrukarna and KRAV.
Read the 2025 Organic Market Report on Organic Sweden’s website.
