Is Swedish candy having a moment?

PROVO — Stepping into a Swedish candy shop feels like walking into Willy Wonka's wonderland.

Sweet and sour treats line the shelves, with giant candy scoops placed beside the buckets of candy, ripe for the plucking.

Swedish candy shops are popping up all over the place lately. What's behind the trend?

Food regulations in Sweden are stricter, so the sweet treats come with no artificial dyes or high fructose corn syrup.

"I think it definitely has to do with the no artificial dyes. I think there's a big movement for that, and no high fructose corn syrup," said Rome Simonsen, head of marketing for Swedish Moose Candy Co. "But I think even more than that is just how unique it is. It's different than any American candy. And I think it's growing in so much popularity because people come in and they want to have a unique, different experience."

Fueled by social media, with thousands of TikTok videos sharing the viral sweets, Swedish candy is experiencing quite the surge in popularity.

Last month, a Swedish candy shop in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, sold out of practically everything during its soft opening, CBS Minnesota reported.

What is Swedish candy?

Many of the offerings come in gummy form, but there's also plenty of chocolate for the chocolate lovers out there.

There's so many options, it's almost hard to select just a few. Bags are weighed, and customers are charged for the candy's weight, so it can add up quick.

"It's just higher quality," Simonsen said. "It's fresher. It's softer."

In the 1970s, a dentist launched a campaign to suggest children consume candy only on Saturdays, thus the initiative known as "Saturday Candy" became mainstream for many Swedish households, according to the American Swedish Institute.

Now, candy is consumed throughout the week, but the allure of the bulk candy became a Swedish tradition.

The history behind Swedish Moose Candy Co

Camilla Simonsen, Simonsen's mother, moved to Utah from Sweden about 30 years ago.

For years, whoever was visiting from Sweden was tasked with packing Swedish candy in their suitcases.

She had dreamed of opening a Swedish candy shop in the U.S., but it wasn't until she opened up a small candy shop at a seasonal market that she realized her dream could come to fruition. It was super popular with market-goers.

About a year later, she opened up Swedish Moose Candy Co in Provo on Center Street. From there, she and her team opened up three more locations throughout the state of Utah with more on the way.

"Swedish candy is all about sharing," Simonsen said. "That's where it started with Camilla wanting to share that with family originally and friends, and then it's kind of just grown into wanting to share her love of Sweden and Swedish candy with the people here. And so that's what we're all about, is sharing."

Simonsen said he loves seeing how people react to trying the new type of candy buying and eating experience.

"I would say my favorite part is interacting with people who come in and getting to like tell people about this unique candy, but also seeing their reactions," Simonsen said.

Swedish candy from a mobile truck

For Amelia Hapgood, Swedish candy dominates her life these days. The business owner started a Swedish candy truck shortly after getting her first job outside of college.

She graduated from Brigham Young University in sociology and found a job in marketing, but found that the nine-to-five grind wasn't for her.

Hapgood started researching other types of businesses she could do and discovered a woman in Nashville who sold flowers from a vintage Volkswagen truck. She was inspired.

She found a vintage VW truck on eBay and her husband suggested they try selling Swedish candy from the truck instead of flowers. So Amelia's Swedish Candy was born.

"Weddings are popular. Sugar is very popular in Utah," Hapgood said. "That could be something really fun. So we bought the truck, got it shipped out, and within like a week and a half of having the truck, I quit my corporate job. I went all in."

Hapgood grew up in Arkansas and has some ancestry from Sweden, but her main connection to the Scandinavian country is a passion for candy.

"I've worked hard to save some money," Hapgood said. "I want to be able to put everything into this truck. And so I did. And it was biggest risk I ever took. Like truly, looking back, it was an insane move. But I'm so grateful that I was kind of dumb and just did it because Like, I'm just happy where I am."

You don't often see a mobile candy shop. It's a novel idea. Her eight-year-old self would be thrilled by the thought that her adult self is running a candy truck as her full-time gig.

"It's just so fun to design a life around something so childlike and whimsical and fun," Hapgood said.

She loves the variety that Swedish candy offers and believes the appeal can stand the test of time.

"I think what really sets it apart is the insane variety of textures and shapes and flavors and colors, like things like foam eggs, fizzy foam mushrooms, watermelon dynamites, like things that we just don't have here," Hapgood said. "And I don't know, it's just, there's a rise also now in whimsy and creativity and color."

Starting your own Swedish candy business

With the success of her truck and a significant following on social media — her account @ameliaswedishcandy has more than 35,000 loyal followers on Instagram — Hapgood created a course to teach people how to start their own Swedish candy business.

"I've loved seeing across the country like these carts and these trucks and this branding and people putting their own creative twists on it," Hapgood said. "And it's truly fulfilling to me because this one girl just quit her job. It almost made me cry."

Her Candy Playbook is an 80-page course designed to help those interested learn how she "built a six-figure mobile Swedish candy business that generated over $100,000 in revenue."

Along with the course, she offers her wisdom over texts and Instagram direct message to anyone who purchases the package.

Almost 20 Swedish candy businesses across the country have sprouted from the course she provides.

Hapgood's business mainly focuses on private events like weddings, but sometimes you can find the truck parked in Midway.

"You feel like a kid again, scooping candy, choosing what you want, feeling like you're in a little candy shop, but it's actually just a cute little truck," Hapgood said.

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