Inflation and changing consumer behavior have altered shopping habits, yet investor confidence persists because the grocery sector continues to provide stable, essential demand.
Frozen food—valued for durability, affordability, and reduced waste—has been particularly well positioned in this environment.
In 2023, Swedish consumers became increasingly price-sensitive as living costs rose. This led to noticeable changes in how households approached grocery shopping, with many seeking out value alternatives and stretching budgets by opting for products with longer shelf lives.
This supported the performance of frozen food, which naturally aligns with these priorities. Sweden’s total retail sales grew by 3.5% year-on-year in Q4 2023, reaching EUR83bn.
Although general retail growth was driven mainly by cosmetics, beauty, and broad-range categories, the grocery market benefited from stable underlying demand and consumers’ shift toward cost-efficient products.
The Swedish grocery sector is mature and concentrated. ICA, Axfood, and Coop together account for about 80% of national food retail sales. Their extensive store networks—ranging from hypermarkets and discount stores to small urban convenience formats—create the infrastructure that allows frozen food to maintain strong nationwide availability.
Online grocery, which expanded rapidly during the pandemic, has since normalised. By 2023, e-commerce represented roughly 4% of the grocery market, split evenly between home delivery and click-and-collect services.
While online penetration has stabilised, the investment these major retailers made in digital logistics during 2020–2021 continues to support frozen-food distribution.
Major Grocery Retailers and Their Influence on the Frozen Category
As the largest grocery retailer in Sweden with roughly 45% market share, ICA’s extensive hypermarket and supermarket formats offer some of the country’s broadest frozen assortments.
Axfood, another major retailer, is reinforcing its logistics capabilities through major investments, including a new logistics centre outside Stockholm.
This expansion strengthens the company’s ability to manage temperature-controlled distribution efficiently. Willys, its leading discount chain, plays a central role in offering competitively priced frozen goods.
Coop faced rising operational costs in 2023 but continued to invest in store refurbishments. Upgraded refrigeration, layout improvements, and more efficient space planning within renovated stores are likely to benefit frozen-food presentation and energy efficiency over the medium term.
To read the entire article, please access your complimentary e-copy of Frozen Food Europe November-December, 2025 issue here.