Matthijs is a Dutch family-owned confectioner founded in 1920 in Hoogerheide, Noord-Brabant. After more than a century in the same family, the brand has grown from a small workshop into a major Dutch candy manufacturer — internationally recognised for its skull-shaped sour gummies and the cult "Swedish Skulls" import bag.
The story
The Swedish Skulls product is the part of Matthijs most non-Dutch shoppers meet first — confusingly named (it's Dutch-made, not Swedish), but the blue-and-yellow colour scheme borrows the Swedish flag, and the product is a fixture of the global Scandi-candy import scene. The broader Matthijs catalogue covers Dutch licorice, gummy candies, veggie (vegan) candies, and wine gums.
Signature products
- Swedish Skulls — blue and yellow sour skull mix (named for Sweden's flag)
- Danish Skulls — pastel pink/cream skulls
- Cola Skulls — cola-flavoured brown skulls
- Pinky Skulls — pink fruit-flavoured skulls
- Dutch licorice ranges (sweet and salty)
- Wine gums
- Veggie candies (vegan line)
Flavour profile and audience
Sour, chewy gummy, fruity, skull-shaped novelty. Bolder sour edge than Frisia, denser chew than BUBS. Trend-forward import, teen / young-adult, social-media-friendly pick-and-mix.
Where Matthijs fits in the wider candy world
Matthijs Swedish Skulls is the bag most often confused with BUBS — they share a foam-skull format but BUBS is genuinely Swedish (Huskvarna), while Matthijs is Dutch (Hoogerheide). Worth knowing if a customer asks where their candy actually comes from.
Where to start
Swedish Skulls — the cult bag and the most recognisable Matthijs product.
TheSweetsTruck launches May 2026 with Matthijs 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.