Axfood is converting its entire Garant own-label tea range to Fairtrade certification, starting with 14 bagged teas and extending to loose-leaf products later this autumn.

The Swedish group announced the move on 8 October. The certified bagged teas are available through Willys, Hemköp, City Gross and Tempo.

The change makes certification a range-wide sourcing requirement rather than an option attached to selected products. For tea suppliers, that raises practical questions about certified ingredient availability, documentation and the timing of packaging changes.

Kristina Areskog Bjurling, sustainability head at Dagab, Axfood’s purchasing and logistics business, linked the decision to its work on living wages. Axfood has identified Indian tea as a priority because of labour and wage risks in the supply chain.

Fairtrade requirements cover working conditions and wages, alongside a premium for producer and worker projects. The announcement does not establish that every worker supplying the range already receives a living wage.

The rollout reaches several Swedish supermarket chains through a shared own-label programme. That gives a single sourcing decision a wider route to market than a launch limited to one retail banner.

Axfood’s published own-label procurement process includes supplier quotations, product samples, specification checks and contract negotiations. Certification therefore sits alongside taste, food safety, price and supply performance; it does not replace those checks.

For competing own-label programmes, the useful comparison is the extent of the commitment: selected certified lines or a complete category. A phased conversion also requires clear control of old and new stock so that on-pack claims match the product being supplied.

Axfood has not disclosed purchasing volumes, supplier changes or the cost of conversion. Those omissions limit any assessment of the commercial impact on growers or retail pricing.

The next milestone is the conversion of Garant’s loose-leaf teas later this autumn, completing the scope announced for the range.

Editor’s note: Based on Axfood’s Swedish announcement dated 8 October 2026 and its published own-label purchasing process, translated and independently analysed by GTN for sourcing and retail implications.