Earlier this year, Wine Intelligence conducted a market survey on consumer trends in the Swedish wine market. During a webinar, some of the results were presented. Ulf Sjödin, category manager at Systembolaget, the Swedish retail monopoly, participated.
In 2020, Swedes bought more expensive wines at Systembolaget. 27% of the wines bought at Systembolaget cost 300 SEK (~30 euro) or more, which is not surprising. Fewer people went to restaurants, and with the money they saved, they indulged in better wines for dinners at home. Newly launched brands also did well, contrary to the perception held in many other countries, that wine drinkers during the pandemic preferred well-known brands.
It is hard to know which trends are due to the pandemic and which ones will remain afterwards, said Ulf Sjödin. However, he believes that organic wine will continue to increase, sales of organic wines increased by 17% in 2020, and that buying more expensive wines also remains. Ulf Sjödin also noted the very strong development of craft beer in Sweden, a trend that will probably survive the pandemic as well.
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