About Systembolaget
The Swedish market
The Swedish government operates a monopoly on retail sales of alcoholic beverages. This means that all retail sales of spirits, wine, and beer, with an ABV superior to 3.5 volume percent, takes place through the government-owned company Systembolaget. Systembolaget operates 448 retail stores nationwide and beverages are sold without profit maximization, and up-selling is prohibited. Systembolaget counts for 91% of the total wine sales in volume.
Key facts and trends
- 10,4 Million people in Sweden (jun. 21).
- 86% of Swedes live in cities.
- We see an increasing individualism amongst the consumers. More and more consumers asks for unusual products.
- Swedes are continuing to purchase wine at higher prices. As interest in wine rises, consumers are becoming more willing to spend money for quality and exclusive wines. This can be seen with the Old World Wine countries (and US) that have driven the growth over the last years.
- Following health trends. Swedish wine drinkers, especially younger consumers, are seeking alternative and healthier options, including organic, vegan wines and sulfites-free.
- Many trends observed on the Swedish market are the result of Systembolaget´s launch strategy.
Enter the assortment
According to Swedish law Systembolaget can only buy products through a Swedish importer/ beverage supplier.
For a producer, it is important to work with an importer who has deep knowledge about Systembolaget's purchasing process and who knows how to work proactive with the launch strategy - the launch plan. To be successful on the Swedish market it's crucial to have an active dialog and strategy with the importer and together present interesting products to Systembolaget’s buyers.
The different assortments
Fixed assortment - These wines (all kinds of price points and volumes) have all gone through the tender process and won a listing in all or parts of the 448 retail stores. These wines will stay in the assortment as long as they sell enough volume compared to its competitors in the same price/product segment.
Temporary assortment Volume - The wines goes through a tender process but the difference from the fixed assortment is smaller volumes and one purchase. If the product sells well it gets a re-purchase of the following vintage.
Temporary Exclusive assortment – These wines are purchased directly by the buyer and don’t need to go through the tender process. It's a one time purchase of a fixed volume.
Order assortment – These wines are registered by the importer on Systembolaget’s website/webshop and can be ordered and picked up in the consumer’s closest retail store. The wines have no distribution and marketing is needed to drive sales.
The purchasing process
1) An extensive analysis about the Swedish market is summarized in an annual launch strategy.
2) All coming launches are announced and briefly described in a launch plan that is published twice a year.
3) The launches are then specified in requests for tenders that are published four times a year approximately seven to eight months before launch.
4) Launch strategy, launch plans and requests for tenders are all available for all approved beverage suppliers (around 1000 in 2021).
5) Product samples for each request for tender are asked for if the tender is formally correct and the offered product is corresponding with what is stated in the request for tender.
6) The final selection is made by a tasting panel in a blind tasting. The product that has the highest quality and is corresponding to the tasting profile written in the request for tender is the product launched.
7) A quality follow up based on both sensorial analysis and chemical analysis by our own laboratory is performed just prior to launch to make sure that the delivered products in the stores are identical to the product that took part in the tender tasting.
8) All products launched are regularly evaluated and the level of distribution is changed to follow consumer demand as defined in our purchasing terms.
