Scan Magazine | Special Theme | A Taste of Sweden
The original – unusually tasty Tasty open sandwiches, snacks, or full meals in their own right. Polarbröd gives everyone the chance to eat well and healthily – today and for generations to come. This is, without doubt, the original in Swedish bread making. By Malin Norman | Photos: Polarbröd
Polarbröd is Sweden’s third-largest bread producer. For almost 140 years, the company has been baking its muchloved hearth-baked flatbread and continuing to spread the century-old northern Swedish bread culture. From a small bakery in Älvsbyn, founded by Greta and Gösta Nilsson, it has grown into a business with around 400 employees. The head office and main bakery is still located in Älvsbyn, some 60 kilometres from Luleå, along with the production of the flat round bread. Polarbröd also 96 | Issue 109 | February 2018
has two other bakeries: one in Bredbyn, maintaining the tradition of hard and soft flatbread, and another in Omne. With modern leadership and focus on sustainability, the business is now run by the fifth generation of bakers, sisters Karin Bodin and Anna Borgeryd, and aiming for another five generations at least.
The Polar Method –Polarmetoden® Great taste and the tradition of hearthbaked flatbread are the building blocks of this fantastic success story. These days, Polarbröd is the market leader in
soft and hard flatbreads and also makes white and brown bread rolls, readymade sandwiches as well as a growing range of organic bread. Innovation is pretty much based on the classic products, with additions of new variants and formats. Polarbröd’s bread is perfect for bringing on picnics, encouraging an active lifestyle in the great outdoors, and popular among families with children in particular. According to export manager Johan Nylund, the bestsellers are Wheat Round and Rye Round, while his own personal favourite is Sarek soft thin bread. “Our Sarek bread is so versatile,” he says. “You can eat it as a sandwich, or make teatime snacks, or even use it as a tortilla bread for a complete meal.”