Supermarkets & Food Shopping in Sweden

Quick answer: ICA is everywhere and has the best loyalty card. Willys is cheapest. Systembolaget has the retail monopoly on wine, spirits, cider and any beer above 3.5% ABV, and is closed Sundays. Download Too Good To Go to cut food costs.

Food costs in Sweden are higher than most non-Nordic countries. Konsumentverket's 2026 estimate for a single adult who cooks at home is SEK 2,450–2,840 a month depending on age; eating out or buying premium brands pushes it higher. Cooking at home and using the right stores and apps makes a significant difference. This guide covers what you need to know from day one.

The Main Supermarket Chains

ICA is Sweden's dominant grocery chain, covering around a third of the market. It operates under several formats:

• ICA Nära — small neighbourhood stores, convenient but more expensive
• ICA Supermarket — mid-size, the standard weekly shop store
• ICA Kvantum — larger, better range, more competitive pricing
• ICA Maxi — hypermarket format, bulk pricing, often outside city centres

The ICA app and loyalty programme (Stammis) are genuinely useful. Weekly personalised offers can cut a meaningful amount off your bill if your shopping patterns align with the discounts.

Coop is a consumer cooperative chain, one of the three big grocery groups in Sweden. Similar pricing to ICA. Slightly better for organic/eco-labelled products. Coop also has a membership (a refundable SEK 100 share) that earns points on every purchase, redeemable in its Poängshoppen.

Willys (owned by Axfood) is the main discount chain. No-frills layout, strong private-label range, consistently the cheapest full-service option. The standard recommendation for budget-conscious shoppers.

Hemköp (also Axfood) is mid-market, positioned closer to ICA. Found in many central urban locations.

Lidl operates the same discount model as everywhere in Europe. Strong value on fresh produce, bakery, and rotating non-food special offers. Growing rapidly in Sweden.

Netto — the Danish discount chain — left Sweden: Coop bought all 164 Swedish Netto stores in 2019 and converted or closed them.

ICA Stammis and the App

Joining Stammis is free and does not require a personnummer (though some benefits are reduced without one). You can sign up in-store or via the ICA app. Once registered:

• Weekly "Mina Erbjudanden" (My Offers) are personalised to what you actually buy
• Points accumulate towards a bonus, credited after any month in which you collect at least 2,000 points
• The app shows your digital receipt, current offers, and store locations
• You can load digital offers to the card before shopping

For regular ICA shoppers, the card is worth using from the first month.

Opening Hours

Most Swedish supermarkets are open 7 days a week, often from early morning until late evening. This is worth noting because Systembolaget is closed on Sundays — plan alcohol purchases accordingly.

Systembolaget: The Alcohol Monopoly

Sweden has a state-run retail monopoly for alcoholic drinks above 2.25% ABV, with one exception: beer up to 3.5% ABV (folköl), which grocery stores may sell. The monopoly is Systembolaget.

What you can buy at regular supermarkets:

• Lättöl (light beer) up to 2.25% ABV
• Folköl (medium beer) up to 3.5% ABV

Everything else — wine, spirits, strong beer, cider, and most imported craft beers — must be purchased at Systembolaget (since 2025 small producers may also sell their own drinks on site under a farm-sales permit).

Opening hours vary by store, so check your local store's hours on systembolaget.se or in the Systembolaget app. Stores are closed on Sundays and public holidays. There is also an online store with home delivery or pickup options.

The selection at Systembolaget is actually excellent, and staff are knowledgeable. Prices are what they are — there's no discounting or promotional pricing.

Typical Grocery Costs (2026)

Item prices move too often for a printed list to stay accurate, so check the chains' own apps for current prices. For budgeting, Konsumentverket's 2026 estimate for a single adult who cooks all meals at home is SEK 2,450–2,840 a month depending on age (SEK 2,730 for ages 25–50). At Willys or Lidl, the same basket generally costs less than at a mid-range store like ICA Supermarket.

Swedish Food Staples Worth Knowing

Knäckebröd — crispbread, a Swedish staple. Comes in dozens of varieties. Shelf-stable for months. Goes with almost anything.

Filmjölk — cultured milk (like thin yoghurt). A Swedish breakfast tradition. Not the same as regular milk or yoghurt. Worth trying.

Husmanskost — traditional Swedish home cooking. Meatballs (köttbullar), Jansson's temptation (Janssons frestelse), potato dishes, pickled herring. Available as ready meals in every supermarket.

Surströmming — fermented herring, infamous for its extreme smell. Canned. Do not open indoors unless you have specifically prepared your household for this. A Swedish cultural experience, not an everyday food.

Lingonsylt — lingonberry jam. Eaten with meatballs, pancakes, rice pudding. Standard condiment in Swedish cooking.

Food Waste Apps

Food costs in Sweden are high enough that these apps are genuinely worth using:

Too Good To Go — restaurants, bakeries, and cafes sell surplus food in "magic bags" at a discount. Contents vary. Widely used across Swedish cities.

Matsmart — online store for near-expiry, overstock, and cosmetically imperfect grocery items. Deep discounts on name-brand products. Good for non-perishables. Delivery or pickup.

Online Grocery Delivery

MatHem — the main premium online grocery service in Sweden. Good range, reliable delivery. Delivery fees vary; check the fee shown at checkout. No strong value case unless time is genuinely scarce.

ICA Online / Coop Online — both ICA and Coop offer home delivery from local stores. Variable quality depending on the picking staff.

Online grocery in Sweden is convenient but expensive compared to shopping in person at Willys or Lidl.

Common Problems and Fixes

"I can't find [ingredient from my home country]" — Larger cities have specialist shops. Stockholm has extensive Asian grocery stores (Hötorgshallen, various shops in Kista and Rinkeby). Middle Eastern and international groceries are found in areas with immigrant communities. Search "asiatisk livsmedel" or "indisk butik" on Google Maps for your city.

"I got to Systembolaget on a Sunday and it was closed" — This happens to every expat once. After that, you plan ahead. Check the Systembolaget app for opening hours and online ordering before Sunday runs dry.

"My ICA digital offers aren't showing up" — Make sure your ICA card is registered in the app with your correct card number. Offers activate when you've scanned your card at checkout — it takes a few visits for personalisation to kick in.

"Prices seem much higher than online prices I checked" — ICA Nära and smaller format stores price at a premium vs. ICA Maxi or Willys. If your nearest store is a convenience-format ICA, you may want to make a weekly trip to a larger Willys or Lidl for the main shop.