Buyers of alcohol through Swedish farm sales drink more, new CAN report finds

27.04.2026 - People who buy alcohol directly from producers through Sweden’s new farm sales system drink more than comparable groups of alcohol consumers, according to a new report from CAN, the Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs.

Farm sales became legal in Sweden on 1 June 2025, allowing small-scale alcohol producers to sell drinks directly to visitors on site, under specific conditions. Producers need a municipal permit, sales are limited to people aged 20 and above, and purchases must be linked to an educational visitor arrangement. The rules are temporary and will apply for six years, with an evaluation during that period. By the end of 2025, 150 farm sales permits had been granted, most of them in southern Sweden.

The CAN report, Gårdsförsäljning i Sverige, vem är köparen? (“Farm sales in Sweden, who is the buyer?”), is based on data from CAN’s Monitor survey, which follows alcohol consumption patterns in Sweden. During the second half of 2025, 10,191 people aged 20 to 84 took part in the survey. Respondents were asked whether they had bought alcohol directly from producers in Sweden during the past 30 days, what type of alcohol they bought and how often they had made such purchases.

The results show that, on average, 2.3 percent of people aged 20 to 84 had bought alcohol directly from a producer during the previous 30 days. This is still a relatively small share compared with Systembolaget, where 47 percent had bought alcohol during a corresponding period. Most farm sales buyers had purchased strong beer (58 percent), followed by wine (34 percent), spirits (19 percent), and cider or alcopops (11 percent). Most had bought alcohol this way once during the period, while 21 percent had done so twice and 16 percent three times or more.

According to CAN researcher and investigator Björn Trolldal, the group buying directly from producers differs most clearly in its alcohol consumption. “Those who buy directly from producers drink more than those who only buy from Systembolaget,” he said in the press release. The report shows that farm sales buyers consumed 0.84 litres of alcohol during the past 30 days, compared with 0.56 litres among Systembolaget customers and 0.47 litres among alcohol consumers as a whole. CAN notes that these differences are statistically significant.

The report also finds that younger adults are overrepresented among farm sales buyers. Four percent of people aged 20 to 29 had bought alcohol directly from producers, compared with 2.3 percent among those aged 30 to 49, 2.9 percent among those aged 50 to 64, and 0.9 percent among those aged 65 to 84. Among those who had bought directly from producers, 24 percent were aged 20 to 29, compared with 13 percent among both Systembolaget customers and alcohol consumers overall.

In other respects, farm sales buyers looked broadly similar to other alcohol consumers. The gender distribution was almost the same as among Systembolaget customers, with 53 percent men and 47 percent women. Education level and regional distribution also showed no major differences. CAN concludes, however, that farm sales appear to be used more often by younger adults and by people who already drink relatively large amounts of alcohol.

The report stresses that these are the first estimates of the scale of farm sales in Sweden. While the current rules and price levels mean that only a small part of total alcohol purchases is likely to come through direct producer sales, CAN says it will be important to follow the development closely as more data become available. The total volume of alcohol sold through farm sales in 2025 is expected to be reported by the Public Health Agency of Sweden later in 2026.

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Source: CAN