Key Business Outlooks For 2026: Åsa Ericsson, Marketing Manager, Sveba Dahlen
For Sveba Dahlen and Glimek, our focus is on building on our strong foundation and further expanding our presence in selected international markets. We are working strategically with key markets where we see clear opportunities and where our premium offering resonates strongly, and we look forward to establishing ourselves in new regions as well.
We asked the most important players in the European and American baking industry about their expectations for the year ahead. They talked about opportunities, changing consumer expectations, what type of support the industry needs, but also about the drawbacks of an unstable political climate and the challenges that come with labour shortage and energy prices increasing.
Åsa Ericsson, Marketing Manager, Sveba Dahlen
How would you assess your company’s performance over the past year?
2025 has been another strong year for Sveba Dahlen and Glimek, continuing a multi-year trend of solid performance and resilience despite a challenging global environment. We have demonstrated that deep baking expertise, premium engineering, and long-term customer partnerships remain powerful competitive advantages.
Our machines continue to deliver high performance, reliability, and energy efficiency, and customers see them as long-term investments. We are proud of the strong second-hand value of our equipment, which reflects durability, quality, and trust in our brands.
Manufacturing remains largely in Sweden, with selected production in Estonia, giving us full control over quality, sustainability, and supply chain processes.
What are your expectations for 2026, taking into account the evolving market dynamics?
For 2026, we expect continued volatility in energy prices, raw materials, and global supply chains, but also sustained demand for automation, efficiency, and premium baking solutions.
We anticipate that bakeries and pizzerias will increasingly prioritize total cost of ownership, energy efficiency, and digitalization. This plays directly to our strengths as a premium manufacturer with a strong focus on lifecycle performance and sustainability.
Despite ongoing cost pressures, we have chosen not to increase prices for 2026, underlining our commitment to long-term partnerships and predictable, high-value investments. Our focus on durability, energy efficiency, recyclability, and strong residual value helps customers optimize both total cost of ownership and sustainability performance.
How do you foresee the global and regional bakery markets evolving, and what are your company’s top priorities for 2026?
Globally, evolving consumer lifestyles, premiumization trends, and the continued expansion of convenience and foodservice concepts are driving growth in the bakery sector. Regionally, Europe remains focused on sustainability and energy efficiency, while North America and the Middle East continue to prioritize automation and high-capacity production solutions.
In 2026, our priorities are to further strengthen our premium positioning, expand smart baking solutions, support customers with sustainable and energy-efficient technologies, and grow selectively in key international markets.
What have been your primary growth drivers over the past year, and what is the most significant lesson you’ve learned in managing your operations?
Over the past year, our primary growth drivers have been strong demand for premium products, labour-saving technologies, energy-efficient equipment, and close distributor and customer partnerships.
Bakers are proud of their craft, regardless of the size of their operation, and they share a common ambition to achieve consistent baking results with reliability and confidence. Our premium solutions help bakers deliver the best possible baking results, across a wide range of products, with high consistency and predictability.
Labour-saving technologies have also been a significant driver. User-friendly machines make it easier and faster to train new staff, and modern dough handling equipment reduces the need for manual labour on site, helping bakeries address ongoing skills and labour shortages.
Energy-efficient ovens and machines continue to be a key differentiator, as customers increasingly focus on operational costs and sustainability. In addition, strong distributor and customer partnerships have been crucial in supporting growth and understanding local market needs.
Over recent years, we have invested significantly in our production facilities, modernizing and optimizing our manufacturing processes to reduce waste, improve energy efficiency, and streamline production steps. These investments have strengthened our ability to deliver high-quality products reliably, even in a volatile global environment.
As competition in the baking industry intensifies, what strategies are you employing to strengthen your market position? How do you balance operational investments with innovation and R&D?
We strengthen our position through continuous innovation, premium quality, and close customer collaboration. Our strategy is not to compete on price alone, but on performance, reliability, sustainability, and lifetime value.
For our customers, Sveba Dahlen and Glimek represent a trusted long-term partner with a proven track record since 1948. Our core focus is to deliver consistently excellent baking results across all products and product categories. The fact that our solutions are frequently referenced and replicated across the industry underscores the value of our engineering philosophy—where quality, functionality, and customer benefit are at the core.
We invest consistently in R&D while maintaining operational excellence. Digital interfaces, smart baking control, energy optimization, and modular machine design are key focus areas, ensuring that our customers can future-proof their operations with technology that delivers both performance and measurable value over its lifecycle.
What unexpected developments occurred in 2025, and how did they influence your business operations or strategies?
2025 was characterized by continued geopolitical uncertainty and supply chain volatility, which have increasingly become part of the global manufacturing landscape. Rather than reacting short-term, these conditions have reinforced our focus on long-term product innovation and future-proof bakery technology. We are working in a highly focused way on new product developments with strong lifecycle value, energy efficiency, and digital capabilities, ensuring we can support our customers in an increasingly complex and uncertain environment.
What are the most significant forces driving change in your business for 2026, and how is your company preparing to address them?
One of the most significant forces driving change in our business is the increasing demand for industrial tunnel ovens, with a strong order book extending into 2026 and 2027 and beyond, across both electric and gas-powered solutions. To address this, we have reorganised our production setup to support higher volumes while maintaining premium quality standards. This trend reinforces our long-term focus on industrial baking solutions, automation, and sustainable technology.
From your perspective, what policy, regulatory, or market shifts would most benefit the baking sector in 2026, enabling businesses like yours to thrive?
From our perspective, a more stable global environment would be the single most beneficial shift for the industry. Ongoing geopolitical tensions, tariffs, and trade barriers add complexity and uncertainty for manufacturers and customers alike.
Bakers around the world deserve the opportunity to bake with the best ovens and bakery equipment available—without trade obstacles in the way. A more open and predictable global market would certainly make life easier for everyone in the baking industry.
Looking ahead to the next five years, what is your vision for the industry, and how is your company positioning itself to shape and contribute to its future growth?
Looking ahead to the next five years, we believe the bakery industry will continue to evolve in terms of technology, sustainability, and customer expectations.
For Sveba Dahlen and Glimek, our focus is on building on our strong foundation and further expanding our presence in selected international markets. We are working strategically with key markets where we see clear opportunities and where our premium offering resonates strongly, and we look forward to establishing ourselves in new regions as well.
We believe that strong customer relationships, market presence, and brand trust will remain crucial drivers of growth. And for those who want to follow our journey more closely, we warmly invite readers to follow us on social media and visit our website—this is where we share our latest activities, product news, and insights into what we do every day.