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Revealed: Sweden’s ten most popular brands

Polling firm YouGov has released its mid-year list of the most popular brands in Sweden, based on a daily round of interviews with Swedes.

Revealed: Sweden's ten most popular brands
Gentleman looks tempted by Marabou chocolate. Photo: Claudio Bresciani/TT

Because the list is not confined to Swedish brands, a few international giants have also made the cut. But most of the top performers are Swedish-born. Here’s the countdown. 

10. Systembolaget

A booze behemoth beloved by beer-lovers and bag-in-boxers. Foreigners sometimes find the strict opening hours and monopoly status hard to take, but most Swedes like and trust their state-owned alcohol stockist, and it shows. 


A Systembolaget shopper. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

9. Marabou

Delicious bars of Swedish chocolate. Mmmm. The sweetest thing ever to come out of Sundbyberg is 100 years old this year.  

8. Blocket.se 

If you’ve ever bought or sold anything in Sweden then chances are you’ve been on Blocket. Some people go in there and never come out again. 

7. Yes

The affirmative washing up liquid always puts a positive spin on dish-washing. It’s the Swedish version of Fairy. 

6. Västerbottensost

If you don’t know what this is, well hard cheese. Is what it is. From the Västerbotten region in northern Sweden. It deserves its place even though we don’t quite know how it scraped onto a list dominated by corporate giants. 


Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT

5. Samsung

This South Korean multinational makes a lot of things that Swedes like. 

4. Michelin 

Maker of tyres and ranker of swanky restaurants. French. 

3. Ikea

A place where families go to disintegrate.


After the mental collapse come the meatballs. Thomas Löfqvist/Sydsvenskan/TT

2. Ica

A dominant supermarket chain claiming 50 percent market share in Sweden. Its stores are run by franchise holders. The name stems from the merger in 1838 of four wholesalers, whose owners clinked glasses over dinner and resurfaced under the name Inköpscentralens AB, or Ica for short. Not the Irish Countrywomen’s Association.

1. Volvo 

The iconic car brand is owned these days by China’s Geely but remains associated with all things Swedish: Robust, square, reliable, safe. Pioneer of three-point seat belts, and rear-facing child seats. Safe.


A new Volvo V90. Photo: Anders Wiklund/TT

THELOCAL

Where to find your favourite features on The Local

Love reacting to our debate articles, whipping up our recipes or getting inspired by our expat career profiles? Here's a guide to where and when you can find our regular features, alongside our daily blend of hard news and entertaining reporting.

Where to find your favourite features on The Local
Read about Swedish food every Friday. Photo: Camilla Degerman/Image Bank Sweden
You'll find a range of fresh news stories published throughout the day on The Local, now available via our brand new free app.
 
You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get the very latest updates sent directly to your personal news feed.
 
Below is a guide to the regular features we publish every weekday.
 
Monday
 
My Swedish Career: Kick off the week by reading about how other cosmopolitan professionals have built up careers in Sweden. You'll find a new feature on our homepage every Monday, or why not browse some of our most popular profiles in our jobs section, where you can also search for your own unique opportunity in the Nordic nation.
 

Learn about life in a Swedish workplace by reading The Local. Photo: Lena Grandefelt/Image Bank Sweden
 
Tuesday
 
Opinion: From why Syria could pose the biggest threat to Sweden since the Second World War, to whether men should vote for Sweden's feminist party, we feature debate articles written by readers, politicians, businesspeople or academics with strong views on the most hotly debated topics in Sweden. You can join in discussions on our Facebook page.
 
Property of the week: We showcase the best in Swedish design by independently selecting our favourite apartment or house on the market each week.
 

A previous property of the week. Photo: Fastighetsbyrån
 
Wednesday
 
The Local List: What are the five strangest habits of Swedish people? How should you prepare for a Swedish party? Where can you find the best boutique backpackers in Stockholm or source something fun to do when it's dark in Umeå? (hint: that's every day during the winter). Each Wednesday we bring you a quirky list of things you never knew you needed to know about life in Sweden. You'll find a few easy-to-share bonus lists on other days of the week too.
 

Read about what it's like to live in Sweden every Wednesday. Photo: Martin Jakobsson/Image Bank Sweden
 
Thursday
 
What's on: From gigs to cultural exhibitions, we showcase our top handful of events taking place across Sweden each week, alongside an interactive calendar to help you navigate through dozens of other options of things to see and do in Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm. Plus, look out for our related interviews and in-depth guides to some of the hottest tickets in town from music festivals to sport and comedy events.
 

Stockholm's Pride, one of many big events in the Swedish capital. Photo: Lola Akinmade/Image Bank Sweden
 
Friday
 
Recipe: Food writer John Duxbury is currently sharing some of his favourite Swedish recipes with The Local. From semlor buns and gravad lax to the healthy cabbage rolls Swedes eat when they're short on cash, we've already brought you some mouth watering classic dishes.
 
Blog: Too busy to read much news during the week? Catch up on the most important and most shared stories by reading our Editor's blog, or click here to have it delivered directly to your inbox.
 

Find out how to make Swedish snacks every Friday. Photo: Tina Stafren/Image Bank Sweden
 
Want more news from across Europe? Check out our eight other country sites or follow The Local on Facebook, where we bring you the hottest stories from across Europe's biggest English-language news network, which regularly reaches 5 million readers a month.