3,300 directly employed staff, around 10,000 jobs across the entire value chain and exports worth 6.9 billion kronor. The Swedish snus industry has grown into a significant export sector – not least thanks to nicotine pouches. Now, the Swedish Food Federation is warning that jobs and investment could be lost to other countries if new regulations on smoke-free nicotine are introduced.
In just over ten years, the Swedish snus industry has evolved from a predominantly domestic tobacco industry into a growing export sector. A key part of this transformation has been nicotine pouches, which began to be manufactured in Sweden in the mid-2010s. Today, around 3,300 people are employed directly within the snus and nicotine industry, with significantly more working for subcontractors, distributors and retailers.
This is shown in the new report ”Snus creates thousands of jobs in Sweden”, produced by Livsmedelsföretagen, the trade and employers’ organisation for Swedish food producers.
The organisation estimates that around 10,000 jobs can be linked to the entire value chain. At the same time, exports have grown to nearly seven billion kronor a year.
– Sweden has developed world-leading expertise in snus and nicotine products. “This is not just about a product category but about thousands of jobs, substantial export revenues and expertise built up over generations,” says Patrik Strömer, economic policy expert at the Swedish Food Federation and Secretary-General of the Swedish Snus Manufacturers’ Association.
The nicotine pouches marked a turning point
Snuff production is by no means a new industry in Sweden. However, according to the report, a clear shift can be seen in the mid-2010s.
The Swedish Snus Manufacturers’ Association was formed in 2015, and shortly afterwards, nicotine pouches – or ‘white snus’ – were launched on the Swedish market. The authors of the report link the period that followed to both an increase in jobs and rapidly growing export revenues.
At the same time, historical statistics show how the industry has changed. The number of employees in the traditional snus manufacturing sector was considerably higher in the early 20th century, fell sharply in the latter part of the century, and subsequently began to rise again.
The Swedish Food Federation estimates that more than 3,300 people are currently employed directly in the production and distribution of snus and nicotine pouches.
Old and new products from the same industry
A large proportion of production is still based in Sweden and is spread across various parts of the country.
Classic snus brands such as Ettan, General and Göteborgs Rapé are manufactured in Gothenburg, whilst ZYN is produced in Kungälv. Velo and Lundgrens are manufactured in Malmö, Skruf and Knox in Sävsjö, and Nordic Spirit in Vårgårda. Loop is manufactured in Upplands-Bro.
Helsingborg, Alvesta, Jönköping and Ödeshög are also identified as towns with significant manufacturing activity.
This development means that the expertise and infrastructure built up around traditional snus are now being utilised within an industry that also encompasses tobacco-free nicotine pouches.
Manufacturing does not just require staff on the production lines. Around the factories, there are also businesses and jobs in areas such as packaging and labelling, research and product development, laboratories and testing, warehousing, transport and distribution.
An estimated 10,000 jobs
It is these indirect jobs that underpin the report’s estimate that around 10,000 Swedish jobs can be linked to the sector.
This figure is not a directly measured number. The food industry bases its calculations on the number of people directly employed and uses a model to estimate how many additional jobs industrial production generates in sectors such as subcontracting, transport, distribution and retail.
The report describes a market comprising around 50 companies and thousands of shops across the country.
Nicotine pouches are driving exports
Exports have also changed significantly. According to the statistics in the report, the value of Swedish snus exports has risen from a few hundred million kronor in the late 1990s to around 6.9 billion kronor in 2025.
The report’s export statistics do not make a clear distinction between traditional snus and nicotine pouches. However, figures from the major manufacturers suggest that nicotine pouches now account for a significant proportion of exports.
During a seminar in Almedalen earlier this year, Anette Rosengren, Head of Nordic Operations at Swedish Match, stated that exports of nicotine-only products amounted to six billion kronor last year.
– Last year, we exported nicotine pouches worth six billion kronor, an increase of 300 per cent since 2022. “The growing demand is creating more jobs, in addition to the approximately 1,000 people Swedish Match already employs in production,” said Anette Rosengren.
Norway remains an important market for Swedish snus. At the same time, nicotine pouches have opened up markets where traditional Swedish snus cannot be sold.
Production is also growing outside Sweden
At the same time, Swedish dominance is by no means a foregone conclusion in a growing international market.
The food industry notes that there are already companies and production clusters for nicotine pouches in, amongst other places, Poland and the Baltic states. Outside the EU, manufacturing takes place in places such as India and Dubai.
This means that growing international demand does not necessarily result in more jobs in Sweden.
The issue is particularly relevant now that the EU is drawing up common rules for nicotine products. Traditionally, snus is covered by Sweden’s exemption from the EU’s sales ban, whilst nicotine pouches are not yet subject to any harmonised European regulatory framework.
Instead, several countries have introduced or are planning to introduce their own regulations for these products.
“We need to ensure that the regulatory framework of the future creates the conditions for continued innovation, investment and jobs in Sweden, whilst protecting young people and ensuring that the framework is designed in a responsible manner,” says Patrik Strömer.
”Innovation may move outside the EU”
The question of where future production will be based has also been raised by Swedish manufacturers.
According to Anette Rosengren and Swedish Match, the expertise and production capacity currently available in Sweden and Europe could end up elsewhere if the regulations become too restrictive.
– “If Europe is to compete with the rest of the world, we cannot shackle innovators. We have a Swedish innovation in the form of snus and nicotine pouches. If we regulate these products too strictly, the drive for innovation will instead move outside the EU. Is that really where we want to end up?” she said.
