★ Malaco — The workhorse that built the modern Swedish candy aisle. ★
Malaco.
Founded in 1934 in Malmö as Malmö Lakrits Compani, Malaco is the brand quietly behind a huge slice of what Swedes (and the world) think of as 'Swedish candy' — including the original Swedish Fish.
★ The story ★
Founded 1934 · Sweden
Malaco — short for Malmö Lakrits Compani (Malmö Licorice Company) — started in 1934 in southern Sweden as a licorice specialist. The company's defining move came in the 1950s, when Malaco set out to invent a candy that would represent Swedish culture. Fishing is woven through Swedish life, so the brand designed a chewy, fruity, fish-shaped candy and called it Pastellfiskar — pastel fish.
When Malaco exported the fish to North America in 1957, they were rebranded as Swedish Fish. The candy became iconic in the US — to the point that many Americans don't realise the original is still a different (and many would say better) candy made in Sweden. The export version was eventually licensed to other manufacturers; the original Swedish recipe is still made by Malaco.
Across the rest of the 20th century, Malaco built a deep catalogue of pick-and-mix essentials: wine gums, fruit gummies, salt-licorice classics, the famous Gott & Blandat mix bag, and dozens of one-offs that anchor a Swedish candy counter. The brand was acquired by Leaf in the 2000s, and then merged into Cloetta in 2012. Even under Cloetta, Malaco operates as a distinct brand with its own product lineup — and Cloetta has been pushing it harder internationally in recent years.
★ Iconic products ★
Malaco's greatest hits
Swedish Fish (Pastellfiskar)
The original, made-in-Sweden version of the candy America knows — softer, more aromatic, more clearly raspberry-flavoured.
Gott & Blandat
Sweden's flagship mixed-bag candy. Soft chews, gummies, foam pieces in one bag — the platonic ideal of lördagsgodis at scale.
Bilar (made under Cloetta / Malaco)
The marshmallow cars (technically an Ahlgrens product, now part of the Cloetta/Malaco family) that have been Sweden's bestselling candy for decades.
Malaco Skipper Salt Licorice
The proper Swedish salt-licorice experience: dense, salty-bitter, with the long aftertaste that polarises non-Nordic palates.
Djungelvrål
One of the saltiest commercial licorice candies in the world. Not a starter pack — but a rite of passage if you take licorice seriously.
★ Recent news ★
What's happened lately
In 2025-2026, Cloetta has been focused on expanding Malaco's international footprint — particularly through its CandyKing pick-and-mix concept, with the first permanent US CandyKing store opening in New York City in December 2025. The strategy is to ride the broader Swedish-candy wave that BUBS started and bring more of the Malaco catalogue into reach for non-Nordic shoppers.
On the product side, Malaco's most interesting recent moves have been in salty licorice — adding lower-salt 'starter' variants for international markets, and re-introducing some heritage shapes (foam-and-chew classics from the 1960s) for nostalgic Swedish buyers.
★ Why Malaco matters ★
The Swedish-candy context
Malaco is the brand most Swedes don't think about — because Malaco candy is just 'candy' in Sweden, the default that shows up in every counter, every Saturday bag, every grocery checkout. That ubiquity is the credential. The brand built a huge swath of what Swedish candy is, and a lot of the icons attributed to 'Swedish candy' broadly are Malaco specifically.
What sets Malaco apart from the smaller specialty brands is breadth without quality compromise. Gott & Blandat, the fish, the wine gums — these are mass-produced candies that still taste hand-tuned, because the recipes have had 90 years to settle into their best form.
★ Shop Malaco from Pickmix ★
Direct from Sweden, the way it's meant to taste.
Pickmix Candy Sweden carries the Malaco classics direct from Sweden — the proper original Swedish Fish, Gott & Blandat, salt-licorice classics. 75,000+ customers, 100+ tons delivered, and Malaco has been quietly in most of them.