John Roche, Bord Bia Fellow, Bord Bia - The Irish Food Board
Example of a Swedish ‘Fika’
Sweden is often perceived as a society that has healthy and example-setting dietary habits. This combined with the high levels of physical activity has led to Sweden being somewhat of a role model for other European nations when it comes to health and wellness (Mesi, 2019). For this reason, health and wellbeing is a clear consumer lifestyle trend in Sweden (Bord Bia, 2019).
Nevertheless, while it is true that fitness and healthy eating is prevalent in this society, it is important to note that Sweden is also an indulgent society. This means that Swedes show willingness to realise their desires in terms of enjoying life (Hofstede, 2020). This mentality is applicable to many areas of life, one of which is food and diet.
While Swedes tend to follow heathy diets most of the time, there are several instances during the week and even the day when they tend to indulge. Most notably, these are:
- Fika: Perhaps one of the most popular Swedish traditions, Fika is an opportunity for Swedes to have a quick break during the day and enjoy a coffee with a bun, cake or pastry (Sweden.se, 2020).
- Fredagsmys: Due to Sweden not having much of a going out culture, Friday’s are often spent at home relaxing, watching TV, and very often enjoying a few snacks and glasses of wine (The Local, 2019). ‘Fredagsmys’ rougly translates to ‘cosy Friday’.
- Tacofredag: Mexican food is very popular in Sweden, with ‘Taco Friday’ being a tradition practiced by many students and families (Try Swedish, 2019). Most Swedish retailers have a whole ‘Tex-mex’ section where tortillas, tortilla chips, salsas and other Mexican food ingredients can be found.
- Lördagsgodis: This Swedish tradition translates to ‘Saturday sweets’ or ‘Saturday candy’. It is common for Swedish people to consume sweets at the weekend, most often pick-and-mix sweets from the supermarket. According to The Local (2019), some health-conscious Swedes substitute the sweets with nuts, berries and other healthy snacks that are also found on the candy aisle. However, this proportion of people clearly doesn’t outweigh the rest, as Sweden still has a higher sugar consumption than most other European countries (The Local, 2017).
Those four examples of occasions to indulge are a good representation of the ‘engaging experiences’ trend taking place in Sweden (Bord Bia, 2019). These are moments for Swedes to enjoy and enhance their day.
There is a wealth of data to prove that these traditions do add up in terms of overall consumption of food considered ‘indulgent’. For instance, the average Swede consumes around 10.5 kilograms of sweets per year, putting Sweden as the 7th highest sweet-consuming nation in the world (The Local, 2017). In addition, the Swedish Food Agency claims that 17% of young Swedes’ calories come from sweet foods, and that their junk food consumption is higher than what is considered healthy (The Local, 2018). On top of that, two out of three Swedes want to eat healthier (with a large proportion being between the age of 18 and 24), showing that their desire to indulge still outweighs dietary discipline (Foodwire, 2020).
To sum up, while Swedes follow relatively healthy diets and eating habits throughout the week, they have specific occasions where they consume foods considered less healthy in large amounts.
References:
Bord Bia (2019) – Consumer Lifestyle Trends https://www.bordbiaconsumerlifestyletrends.ie/trends/
Hofstede (2020) – What about Sweden? https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country/sweden/
Mesi (2019) – 10 Reasons why Scandinavians are so healthy https://theculturetrip.com/europe/denmark/articles/10-reasons-why-scandinavians-are-so-healthy/
Sweden.se (2020) – Fika https://sweden.se/culture-traditions/fika/
The Local – Why are the Swedes obsessed with candy? https://www.thelocal.se/20170123/sweet-tooth-why-are-the-swedes-obsessed-with-candy
The Local – Young Swedes eating too much junk food https://www.thelocal.se/20180515/young-swedes-eating-too-much-junk-food-study
The Local (2019) – Swedish word of the day: Lördagsgodis https://www.thelocal.se/20190215/swedish-word-of-the-day-lordagsgodis
Try Swedish (2019) – 10 things for a proper Cosy Friday http://www.tryswedish.com/eat-like-a-swede/tacos-and-other-food-for-cosy-friday/