Malaco is what Swedes mean when they say "godis" without specifying which brand. Founded in Malmö in 1934 — the name is short for "Malmö Lakrits Compani" — Malaco has been the default Swedish candy brand for nearly a century, and is now part of the Cloetta confectionery group.
The story
Malaco's catalogue is the Swedish candy aisle in microcosm: salty licorice, sour-coated discs, foam mallows, fruit chews, chocolate marshmallow logs. Two of Swedish candy's most iconic sub-brands — S-Märke (the giant sour discs stamped with an 'S') and Zoo (the fruit-shaped foam pieces) — both live inside Malaco. If you remember a piece of Swedish candy from a school trip in the 90s, there is a 70% chance it was a Malaco product.
Signature products
- Gott & Blandat — the everyday Swedish fruit-chew mix
- Djungelvrål — legendary salmiak-coated salty licorice
- Skum-bananer — chocolate-covered marshmallow bananas
- Zoo Foam Sour Monkeys — pink sour monkey-shaped foam
- Pinapple — yellow pineapple-shaped foam
- Salty licorice classics — Salty Cars, Saltsill, Skipper's
Flavour profile and audience
Sweet, sour, salty-licorice, foam, mixed Swedish formats. Broad enough that Malaco alone could fill a lösgodis wall. Broad family appeal, strong nostalgia, everyday Swedish snacking.
Where Malaco fits in the wider candy world
Cloetta also owns Lonka (Dutch fudge/nougat) and S-Märke (Swedish sour discs) — three brands that quietly cover most of Northern European candy without overlap. If you want one bag that tastes like Sweden in a single bite, Gott & Blandat is the answer.
Where to start
Gott & Blandat for the broad sampler. Djungelvrål if you want to know what salmiak actually tastes like.
TheSweetsTruck launches May 2026 with Malaco on the shelf — pick-and-mix bags for households and pallet-quantity wholesale for retailers, cafés, and event planners across the US and Canada. Sign up and we'll email you the day the store opens, or talk wholesale if you stock candy for a living.