Sweden meat and coffee prices rose again in January 2026, according to figures cited by Matpriskontrollen, while overall grocery prices remained broadly stable after the sharp food inflation of recent years.
Coffee and meat gets more expensive
Matpriskontrollen’s January tracking shows beef and processed meat continuing to get more expensive, with products such as mince rising by a further 2.3% in the month. The monitoring service linked the increase to a shortage of slaughter animals, a supply-side constraint that can quickly translate into higher retail prices.
Coffee was 2% more expensive in January, according to the same monitoring. Matpriskontrollen said it expects coffee prices to ease during spring 2026 as raw-material prices fall, after a period of volatility that has made coffee a particularly sensitive item in Swedish households’ weekly budgets.
Overall food prices: small monthly increase, moderate yearly change
In the bigger picture, Matpriskontrollen reported that overall food prices rose by 0.1% in January. Compared with the end of January last year, food prices were 1.6% higher, suggesting a continued slowdown after the spikes seen in 2022–2023.
While the aggregate figures look calm, Matpriskontrollen pointed to “rockets” among individual branded products and specific chains. Examples cited include Felix meatballs up 13% at Coop and Ekströms blueberry soup up 21% at Ica Kvantum, illustrating how promotions, supply contracts and category-specific costs can produce sharp differences even when the overall index moves little.
What the January 2026 data suggests about inflation pressures
Food is a significant part of household budgets, and Matpriskontrollen’s January 2026 snapshot points to a mixed picture: overall grocery prices were almost flat on the month, but a few staples moved notably. Put simply, the data suggests that broad-based food price increases have slowed, while category-specific supply and commodity swings still matter.
A Nordic perspective: why coffee and meat matter beyond Sweden
Coffee is culturally central across the Nordic region—Sweden’s fika tradition has been a recurring reference point in public debate on living costs—and price swings often draw outsized attention compared with other groceries. Meat prices, meanwhile, are closely tied to Nordic agriculture, animal availability and feed costs, meaning Swedish developments can resonate across neighbouring markets even when national pricing dynamics differ.
Sweden’s January 2026 figures point to a familiar pattern: headline staples can remain volatile even when the overall basket barely moves. In recent years, Swedish households have been particularly sensitive to grocery price changes after the food-inflation surge of 2022–2023; January 2026’s numbers suggest calmer conditions overall, but not uniformly across categories. The next tests will be whether coffee prices do ease as expected in spring 2026, and whether tight meat supply persists into the first half of the year.
