Axfoundation’s innovative work in Future Food nominated as Sustainability Initiative of the Year

Press release 2020-08-25: Axfoundation’s practical work under the banner of Future Food, with innovations such as Swedish legume mince, has been nominated as Sustainability Initiative of the Year at Dagligvarugalan 2020, an event celebrating achievements throughout the Swedish grocery industry organized by trade magazine Fri Köpenskap.

When this year’s gala kicks off digitally on October 8, Axfoundation will be one of three finalists in the Sustainability Initiative of the Year category. The purpose of the category is to promote the Swedish grocery industry’s work towards a more sustainable environment. Within Future Food, Axfoundation is innovating and accelerating concrete solutions to practical sustainability challenges in the food sector. Among the successful initiatives is the recently launched legume mince, which with its Swedish ingredients is gaining ground both on store shelves and at wholesalers and contributes to a protein shift. Swedish legume mince is one of many ideas that were born and gained vigor at Torsåker farm, Axfoundation’s test farm and development center.

“We aim for Torsåker Farm to be a catalyst that contributes to the development of sustainable food production, innovation, knowledge sharing,” says Madeleine Linins Mörner, program director for Future Food, Axfoundation. “At Torsåker, we can literally follow every step of the process – from sprout to finished product, and in collaboration with the entire industry push towards sustainable food systems.”

By collaborating with actors across the entire food chain, Swedish legume mince has gone from idea to finished product on the shelves in less than two years. From first being sold on a small scale at retailer Urban Deli, the product is today included in several vegetarian meal solutions, including lasagna, taco mince and Bolognese sauce sold at Hemköp food stores and online food retailer Mat.se under Axfood’s private label Garant. The mince is also available in several ready-made dishes at Urban Deli and at the deli counter of selected ICA stores. Restaurants and public kitchens can buy the product from wholesalers.

As an independent non-profit organization with proximity to a large corporate group, Axfoundation has the opportunity to identify concrete sustainability challenges together with grocery players and pilot test practical solutions before they are scaled up. In addition to innovations in Future Good, Axfoundation also drives initiatives within the areas of Circular Economy, Inclusive Society, and Sustainable Production and Consumption.