BonBon Swedish Candy Co. is placing its BonBon Originals line in more than 1,900 Target stores across all 50 states, the New York-based Swedish candy importer announced Sept. 15 — its largest single retail push since founding in 2017 and a move that lifts its total U.S. store count past 5,000 doors.
The two SKUs leading the Target rollout are both produced by Finnish confectioner Fazer and carry Moomin character branding: BonBon Sour Candy Gummies, a vegan, natural-color gummy in lemon, raspberry, cola, and melon with a sour-sugar coating; and BonBon Strawberry & Blueberry Candy Clouds, a foamy, airy format dusted in sugar. Both retail at $4.99 for a 4.1 oz. bag.
From Lower East Side to Mass Retail
BonBon opened its first location on Manhattan's Lower East Side in 2017, importing Scandinavian pick-and-mix confections and introducing the Swedish tradition of lördagsgodis — Saturday candy — to American shoppers. The company has since grown to seven brick-and-mortar stores across New York and Connecticut, plus an e-commerce operation, before layering in a widening network of retail partners. The Target agreement represents its first full-national mass-retail footprint.
"Nine years ago, we opened BonBon because we wanted Americans to experience Swedish candy the way we grew up with it," said Leo Schaltz, co-founder and CEO of BonBon Swedish Candy Co. "To now see BonBon Originals on shelves in thousands of Target stores nationwide is an incredible full-circle moment for us."
What It Means for Candy Sets
The Target expansion arrives as import-origin and "better-for-you" confectionery continues to carve shelf space from domestic legacy brands across mass and convenience channels. Swedish and Scandinavian candy — once a niche import category — has moved firmly into mainstream retail consideration, driven by social-media virality on platforms like TikTok and a consumer appetite for novel textures and flavor profiles beyond the standard domestic gummy set.
For convenience retailers watching category adjacencies, the BonBon format — single-serve bags at a $4.99 price point, natural colors, vegan positioning — tracks with broader trends toward premium packaged candy and snack innovation that have been reshaping the impulse-buy fixture in the forecourt and front-end for the past several years. Operators sourcing differentiated candy SKUs for grab-and-go sets may find increased consumer familiarity with the Swedish format as national Target placement drives brand awareness at scale.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
