If you grew up in Sweden you didn’t need a guide to the candy aisle — your parents handed you a paper bag at the lösgodis wall and you learned by tasting. For everyone else, here’s the short version: Swedish candy is a small ecosystem of independent makers, a few legacy giants, and a handful of cult brands that the internet has decided are worth waiting for.
This guide covers the brands TheSweetsTruck stocks at launch — what they make, where they sit in the Swedish candy world, and which ones to start with if you’re new.
BUBS
Founded 1992 in Huskvarna by the Lindström family. BUBS is the modern Swedish candy brand non-Swedes know first, usually because of the skull-shaped sour candies that go viral every few years on TikTok. The bag of BUBS Sour Skulls is the gateway drug — chewy, intensely sour, and mixed flavour by flavour rather than by colour.
Beyond the skulls, BUBS makes foam-bottomed gummies ("hallon-lakrits-skum", raspberry-licorice foam), salty licorice pieces, and ovals that taste like nothing else on the shelf. The brand stays independent — no parent conglomerate — which is part of why the recipes haven’t been blanded out.
Malaco
Owned by Cloetta. Sweden’s default candy brand. Malaco is what most Swedes mean when they say "godis" without specifying — it’s in every grocery store and gas station from Malmö to Kiruna. The classics: Gott & Blandat (a chewy fruit mix), Djungelvrål (the absolutely-too-salty salmiak that earned a generation’s respect the hard way), and the chocolate-covered marshmallow log Skum-bananer.
If you want one bag that tastes like Sweden in a single bite, Gott & Blandat is it.
Bon Bon
The Stockholm pick-and-mix shop turned brand. Bon Bon started as a candy store in Stockholm and grew into a packaged-candy line you’ll see across Sweden. They sit between BUBS (cult-niche) and Malaco (mass-market) — high-quality, slightly more grown-up flavours, with strong sour and licorice ranges.
Lakerol
Founded 1909 by Adolf Ahlgren. Lakerol is technically a pastille brand, not a candy brand, but Swedes don’t draw that line. The classic blue tin with the word "Lakerol" stamped on the lid has been on Swedish counters for over a century. The flavour profile is more grown-up: salmiak, pear, original (an aniseed–menthol blend that tastes like Sweden in winter).
S-Märke and Lonka (Cloetta)
S-Märke and Lonka both belong to the Cloetta family — a Swedish confectionery group that has acquired several Northern European brands. Lonka is technically Dutch in origin but you’ll see it sitting next to Swedish brands on the lösgodis wall: chunky chocolate-fudge bars, soft chewy mints, and high-density nougat blocks.
Aroma, Grahns, Franssons, Mormor Lisas
These are smaller, mostly family-owned Swedish candy makers — the indie tier. Aroma (Stockholm) makes pressed candy and the legendary jelly rats. Grahns (run by the Lööw and Brewitz families) is best known for chewy classics and sour shots. Franssons is a Gränna-based confectionery workshop that produces small-run lösgodis pieces. Mormor Lisas ("Grandma Lisa’s") leans nostalgic and home-style.
You won’t see these at every Swedish supermarket, but they’re the brands a Swedish candy enthusiast will recognise immediately.
Where Swedish candy fits in the bigger European picture
Sweden is part of a wider Northern European candy tradition that includes Dutch (Lonka, Frisia, Matthijs), Belgian (Astra), German (MAOAM), Spanish (Damel, Vidal), and Italian (Bulgari) makers. The flavour profiles overlap — gummies, foams, salty licorice, hard candy, chocolate-rolled almonds — which is why most "Swedish candy" stores in the US carry the broader European range. We wrote separately about why imported candy tastes different from American candy. For the full lineup, see all brands.
Where to start
If you’re new to Swedish candy and want one of each:
- BUBS Sour Skulls — the modern viral classic.
- Malaco Gott & Blandat — the everyday default.
- Lakerol Original or Salmiak — the grown-up tin pastille.
- Anything labelled saltlakrits — salty licorice. Try it. You’ll either love it or pretend you do.
TheSweetsTruck launches in May 2026 with all of the above and more — pick-and-mix bags for households, and pallet-quantity wholesale for retailers and event planners across the US and Canada. Sign up and we’ll email you the day the store opens.