Five years ago, finding real Swedish candy in the US meant a flight, a friend with luggage space, or an IKEA aisle. Today there are at least five legitimate options — but they're not all the same, and they're not all stocking the same products. Here's the actual 2026 landscape.
1. Mainstream supermarkets (Target, Kroger, Walgreens)
Following the BUBS viral moment in 2023-2024, large US retailers picked up BUBS skulls and a small selection of other Swedish gummies. By late 2025, BUBS was in roughly 35,000 US retail doors including Target, Kroger, Walgreens and Costco (bulk packs). If you want a quick BUBS fix, these are the easiest options.
What you'll find: BUBS Cool Cola Skulls, Sour Skulls, and the sweet-and-sour mix. What you won't find: the deeper BUBS catalogue, Marabou chocolate, Ahlgrens Bilar, the Cloetta lineup, salt licorice, or any of the other Nordic icons.
2. IKEA food market
The IKEA food section near the exit of any US store stocks a rotating selection of Swedish snacks, including a small candy section. It's the easiest place to find Marabou bars, Daim, Plopp, and occasionally Polly. The selection is limited and varies by store, but the prices are reasonable and the quality is fine.
What you'll find: Marabou (standard bars), Daim, Plopp, sometimes Polly, sometimes lingonberry-flavoured items. What you won't find: BUBS, the full Cloetta range, Ahlgrens Bilar, or salt licorice.
3. Specialty Scandinavian shops
Cities with strong Scandinavian-American populations — Minneapolis, Seattle, parts of New England — have specialty importers that stock a deeper range. Quality varies. Some are excellent; some sell products that have been sitting on a shelf for a year. Always check the best-before date if you're buying in person.
What you'll find: usually a fuller Cloetta range, Marabou, sometimes Malaco classics, occasionally Ahlgrens Bilar. What you won't always find: BUBS (some chains are still catching up), the full salt licorice range, fresh stock.
4. Amazon and large online resellers
Amazon, eBay and similar marketplaces list a huge range of Swedish candy. The catch: most of it has passed through multiple warehouses before reaching you, and freshness is hit-or-miss. Read seller reviews carefully and check best-before dates upon arrival.
What you'll find: nominally anything. What you actually get: variable. Best for non-fresh-sensitive items like hard candy and chocolate bars; worst for foam-and-chew candies where texture degrades over time.
5. Direct-from-Sweden importers (Pickmix and similar)
Pickmix Candy Sweden is a direct-from-Sweden shipping operation — we pack in Hjo and ship to your door, usually within 5-8 business days. The advantage is freshness: the candy was on a Swedish supermarket shelf within the month, not in a US warehouse for a year. The trade-off is shipping time and cost (free over $100). We've shipped 100+ tons of Swedish candy to 75,000+ customers in 20+ countries; the freshness gap shows up in the texture, the flavour, and the best-before date on the bag. The Sweden guide is here, or you can browse the catalogue directly.
What to know about freshness
Foam-and-chew candies (BUBS skulls, Bilar, Malaco fish) are particularly time-sensitive — the texture starts shifting after 9-12 months on the shelf, even unopened. Chocolate is more forgiving but bloom (white residue) develops if it's stored too warm. Salt licorice keeps for years if sealed properly.
- Check best-before dates on any imported candy — should be more than 6 months out.
- Foam-and-chew candies should bounce back when squeezed; if they feel hard, they're past it.
- Chocolate with surface bloom is still safe; just a sign of storage temperature variation.
- If a bag smells off when opened, send it back — fresh Swedish candy has a clean fruit-and-licorice aroma.
“Direct-from-Sweden is a slower option. It's also the only option that consistently tastes the way the makers intended.”
Which option is best for you?
For a quick BUBS fix and you live near a Target: walk in. For a Marabou bar with dinner: IKEA. For trying a full curated Swedish lineup with the texture intact: order from Pickmix or a similar direct-shipper. For obscure regional items or extreme salt licorice: specialty Scandinavian importers in person if you have one nearby; otherwise direct-from-Sweden.
If you want the proper "I just walked into a Swedish candy counter" experience, the best move is to build your own mix — pick 100 grams at a time of 8-10 different items, watch the bag fill in real time, ship the whole thing from Sweden. That's the closest you'll get to the lördagsgodis experience without flying.