Dairy Products
Swedish dairy products are uniquely Swedish: Bregott butter, filmjölk soured milk, Kalles Kaviar tube, mjukost cream cheese and the iconic Västerbottenost. Buy authentic Swedish dairy shipped refrigerated from Sweden to 100 countries.
What are Swedish dairy products?
Swedish dairy products cover the everyday milk-based foods on a Swedish breakfast and lunch table: butter (smör and the half-butter Bregott), soured milk drinks (filmjölk), cream (grädde), cream cheese in tubes (mjukost) like Kavli and Philadelphia Skinka, hard cheeses like Västerbottenost and Prästost, and Kalles Kaviar — the salty smoked-cod-roe spread that's technically a fish product but lives on every Swedish dairy shelf. Most are made by Arla, Sweden's largest dairy cooperative, with regional brands like Wapnö, Skånemejerier and Norrmejerier supplying premium and local ranges.
Top Swedish dairy brands and products
| Brand/Product | Type | Best known for |
|---|---|---|
| Bregott | Half-butter, half-rapeseed-oil | Spreads straight from the fridge |
| Arla | Milk, cream, butter, yoghurt | Full Swedish dairy range |
| Kavli | Mjukost in tubes | Räkost, Skinkost, Bacon |
| Kalles | Kaviar (smoked cod roe spread) | The blue tube on every Swedish breakfast |
| Norrmejerier | Premium Norrland cheeses | Västerbottensost, Verum filmjölk |
| Wapnö | Local farm dairy from Halland | Mjölk, grädde, smör |
Bregott, filmjölk and mjukost explained
Three products define the Swedish dairy shelf and confuse newcomers. Bregott is a 60% cream + 40% rapeseed oil spread invented in Sweden in 1969 — it's spreadable straight from the fridge but tastes like real butter, and Swedes living abroad miss it dearly. Filmjölk is soured milk, tangier than yoghurt and thinner, eaten cold for breakfast with crunchy oats or muesli on top. Mjukost is soft cheese sold in toothpaste-style tubes (Kavli is the best-known brand), with flavours from plain to bacon, prawn and ham, squeezed onto crispbread.
Hard cheeses: Västerbotten, Prästost and Herrgård
Sweden's hard cheese tradition centres on three classics. Västerbottensost is a sharp, crystalline cheese aged at least 14 months — Sweden's answer to Parmigiano, made only in Burträsk in Norrland. Prästost ("priest cheese") is mild, slightly tangy and softer, named after the historical practice of paying parish priests in cheese. Herrgård is a buttery, semi-hard mid-aged cheese that goes on every Swedish breakfast sandwich. See our Swedish cheese category for the full hard-cheese range.
Buying Swedish dairy abroad
Most Swedish dairy products require refrigeration and aren't sold outside Scandinavia. Butik Hemlängtan ships refrigerated items by express service only, dispatched on Mondays and Tuesdays, with frozen gel packs to keep temperature stable in transit. Hard cheeses, butter, mjukost tubes and Kalles Kaviar all ship this way. Long-life and dry items (powdered milk, hard cheeses with long shelf life, Kalles Kaviar tubes) can ship by standard shipping too. See our refrigerated shipping page for the full handling rules and our shipping information for general options.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bregott?
Bregott is a Swedish spread made from 60% cream and 40% rapeseed oil, invented in 1969 by Arla. It tastes like real butter but spreads straight from the fridge, and is the most popular butter alternative on Swedish breakfast tables. It's not available in most international supermarkets.
What is filmjölk?
Filmjölk is a Swedish soured milk drink, similar to a thinner yoghurt but with a milder, distinctively tangy flavour from a specific bacterial culture. It's eaten cold for breakfast in a bowl with muesli, crunchy oats, jam or fresh berries on top, and is one of the most-missed Swedish breakfast items abroad.
Where can I buy Swedish dairy abroad?
Swedish dairy products — Bregott, Kavli mjukost, Kalles Kaviar, Västerbottensost, filmjölk culture and hard cheeses — can be ordered from Butik Hemlängtan (swedishfoodshop.com), which ships refrigerated items by express service to 100 countries. See our refrigerated shipping page for handling rules.
What is Kalles Kaviar?
Kalles Kaviar is a Swedish smoked-cod-roe spread sold in a blue toothpaste-style tube. It's salty, slightly sweet and lives on every Swedish breakfast table, squeezed onto buttered crispbread or boiled eggs. Despite the name, it's not the luxury fish-egg caviar but a mass-market sandwich spread loved across Sweden.
How is Swedish dairy shipped internationally?
Refrigerated Swedish dairy items are dispatched by express service only on Mondays and Tuesdays, with frozen gel packs to keep temperature stable in transit. Long-life items like Kalles Kaviar tubes can ship by standard shipping too. See our refrigerated shipping page for full details.
What is Västerbottensost?
Västerbottensost is a sharp, crystalline hard cheese aged at least 14 months, made only in Burträsk in Norrland, Sweden. It's often called Sweden's answer to Parmigiano, and is the traditional cheese for the savoury västerbottenpaj served with hjortronsylt at midsummer.
Is Bregott a butter or margarine?
Bregott is officially a "matfett" (food fat) made from 60% cream and 40% rapeseed oil. It is closer to butter than margarine — most of the fat comes from real cream — but the rapeseed oil keeps it spreadable cold. Sweden classifies it separately from both pure butter and standard margarine.
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