Why Is Swedish Candy Such a Big Deal?

There are a lot of things Sweden is known for internationally. IKEA, ABBA, Volvo, and Swedish meatballs are probably pretty high on the list. But there's another Swedish obsession that I think deserves more attention, especially because it seems to confuse people who aren't familiar with it.

Candy!!!

Specifically, lösgodis, which is Swedish for pick-and-mix candy.

If you've ever been into a Swedish supermarket, you've probably seen the huge walls of individual candy bins. Instead of buying one prepackaged bag, you take a scoop and fill your own with whatever you want. Chocolate, gummies, sour candy, marshmallow shapes, licorice, and combinations of flavors that occasionally seem designed to test how adventurous you are.

The variety is honestly impressive. There are entire sections dedicated to different types of licorice, including salty licorice, which is extremely popular in parts of Scandinavia and much less universally appreciated elsewhere.

The salty flavor comes from ammonium chloride, an ingredient that gives salmiak licorice its distinctive taste. It's one of those foods that people tend to either love or absolutely hate. If you've never tried it, imagine expecting something sweet and getting a flavor that your brain can't quite categorize.

But the most interesting part of Swedish candy culture isn't necessarily the candy itself. It's the tradition surrounding it.

In Sweden, there's a concept called lördagsgodis, which translates to "Saturday candy." The idea is that children traditionally save their sweets for Saturday rather than eating them throughout the week. It's a habit that became widespread during the twentieth century and is still familiar to many Swedish families.

The history is a little more complicated than it sounds. During the 1950s, Swedish public-health efforts encouraged limiting candy consumption to one day a week to help reduce tooth decay. The research history connected to those recommendations includes deeply unethical dental experiments carried out at the Vipeholm institution, where people with intellectual disabilities were subjected to harmful studies without meaningful consent. It's an uncomfortable part of the story, but an important reminder that even familiar traditions can have complicated histories.

Today, lördagsgodis is generally associated with something much more cheerful: going to the store, choosing your candy, and enjoying it over the weekend.

I think what makes the tradition interesting is that it turns something ordinary into a little event. Instead of candy being available whenever you want it, there's an entire ritual around choosing it. And because everyone gets to make their own mixture, no two bags have to look the same.

Swedish candy has also become more popular internationally, particularly through social media, where people share videos of colorful pick-and-mix selections and taste-test unfamiliar flavors.

Some of the reactions to salty licorice are probably my favorite.

Growing up with Swedish parents while living internationally, I like seeing which parts of Swedish culture people recognize and which ones still surprise them. Most people have heard of IKEA. Far fewer realize that Swedish supermarkets can have candy sections that look like an entire store on their own.

If you're ever visiting Sweden, I'd definitely recommend trying lösgodis at least once.

Just be careful when choosing anything black. It might not taste the way you're expecting.