Copyright Salt Lake City Deseret News
When Olive Redd, Greta Sunderlage and Malia Bradburn opened So Swede!, a Swedish candy shop in American Fork, Utah, their accountant said they had to sell 300 pounds of candy their first month to turn a profit. They ordered 900 pounds just to be safe, figuring that would last them that first month and beyond. They sold out in a few hours. The line that first day wrapped around the block, and subsequent openings experienced similar demand. Now that So Swede! has been in business for a few months, the shop has settled into a schedule, but the hype remains alive and well. The tiny shop even has the approval of Nara and Lucky Smith, popular content creators who posted a video of themselves enjoying a taste test of So Swede!’s candies and bottled drinks. Although selling imported candy took a learning curve, Redd, Sunderlage and Bradburn have been blown away by the support they’ve received from their community. Redd’s favorite part about running So Swede! is meeting the variety of people who come into the store. People from all walks of life — kids, teens, adults, seniors — frequent the shop. ”That’s been fun, to sort of have something that brings out the inner child in everyone,” Redd said. “Everyone can enjoy (it).” Why is Swedish candy so popular? A Swedish candy shop may seem out of place in American Fork, but Utah has a well-documented sweet tooth. Our soda drive-thrus and cookie shops have taken the nation by storm. So Swede! isn’t even the only place in the state where you can buy Swedish candy — Pirate Os in Draper, The Old Dutch Store in Salt Lake, and Haven Haus and the Dainty Pear in Midway also stock some varieties. You can even rent a truck for events from Amelia’s Swedish Candy. If you’re unfamiliar with the phenomenon, Swedish candy is more than Swedish Fish or salty black licorice. While you can get gummy fish and black licorice at So Swede!, their most popular candies include strawberry and cream marshmallows, gummy bubblegum skulls and sour rainbow belts. Swedish candy has been enjoying its time in the spotlight for a while now, thanks to TikTok. A wave of videos introduced Americans to sweets Swedes have been enjoying for years. ”People are interested because it was kind of trending for a long time," Sunderlage said. “It’s fun to bring a bag to a group of people and have everybody taste test it. ... Trying the candy is so fun.” The phenomenon could also reflect Americans’ trend away from artificial ingredients. As the owners of So Swede! noted, Swedish candies are known for their unique textures, which is due to the lack of many of the preservatives and food conditioners used by American manufacturers. Most Swedish candy is also free of synthetic dyes and artificial flavors. Bradburn added that people also appreciate the nostalgia of a bulk candy store. “We’re having this overcorrection of people wanting to do things in person,” she said. “They want to have the experience of going into the store and scooping the candy and picking it out themselves. That’s been really fun, to see people come in and be so excited about just being in a cute space that they can take a photo in.” How So Swede! got its start So Swede! owes its creation to its owners’ first endeavor, another business inspired by Swedish culture. Redd and Sunderlage are sisters, and Bradburn is a good friend of theirs. A few years ago, Redd founded Sonderhaus, a women’s clothing brand inspired by her family’s Swedish heritage and her love for Scandinavian fashion. Redd recruited Bradburn, Sunderlage, and their other sister, Ingrid, to join the team. Their business quickly outgrew their original space, but the team was unable to terminate their lease, and that location sat empty. After Sonderhaus hosted a pop-up event in Salt Lake City one day and decided to include a Swedish candy wall — which was a huge hit — they realized they could use their empty storefront to sell candy. It took three months to get the necessary permits and set everything up. Redd, Sunderlage, Bradburn and their families built everything for the shop themselves, from shelves and ceiling tiles to the handprinted tiles on the checkout counter. After speaking with their accountant, they ordered 900 pounds of candy and prepared for the opening day. Bradburn described running to the back room that opening day, furiously ordering new shipments of candy. But Swedish candy takes a while to get, thanks to supply chain issues and the 5,000 miles or so that separate Sweden and Utah. The shop had to close down for days at a time and could only reopen when a shipment arrived, and candy continued to sell out quickly. The ups and downs of selling foreign candy It’s not easy to establish relationships with Swedish candy retailers. A language barrier wasn’t an issue — most Scandinavians speak English — but Bradburn said Swedish culture did pose a slight problem. Swedish retailers often don’t have the same sense of urgency as American ones. If they’re full, there isn’t much you can do to change that. “The Swedish candy shops that are here are kind of maxing out factories in Sweden, so it’s really hard to gain relationships with these factories because they’re just at capacity,” Bradburn said. Redd said they’ve figured out those supply chain issues over the past months, and now they have a steady stream of dozens of varieties of candy. Tariffs, however, still present a challenge for both So Swede! and Sonderhaus. Although tariffs on the European Union are not as high as ones on some other countries, Redd says it slows down their processes and adds extra costs. “It’s harder to get the candy and it’ll get tied up in customs in Salt Lake City and we’ll have to pay in order to get it released,” she said. “There’s that extra bill on top of everything, which is a lot for a small business to withstand, but we’ve been able to make it work so far.” Balancing businesses and raising children There are numerous hurdles that come with running a small business, and Redd and Bradburn deal with them while also raising kids — each has two daughters. Redd said balancing business with motherhood comes with trade-offs. “I’ve just had to realize that this segment of my life is going to look a certain way, and not every segment of my life will look the same,” she said. “My kids are going to be able to experience really cool things.” Bradburn said it’s important to her to model to her children that hard work pays off. “We really have been able to do what we wanted to do because we’ve worked really hard,” she said. “And I think that’s something that’s important for our children to see.” Plans for the future So Swede! is just getting started. The shop just started selling chocolate, and they have plans to open online ordering and delivery. They’ll be at markets and available for weddings, and they hope to expand with new stores in Utah soon. Sunderlage and Bradburn said the feeling of community has been one of the best aspects of their store, and it’s something they actively try to foster with events and connections on social media. “We are always trying to come up with the craziest thing to have at our community events,” Bradburn said. “What can we do this time that people will be excited about?” Redd said the team is excited to start hosting more events and gathering with other local businesses. “I do think that the experience we’ve created with our community is what makes people excited about it,” she said.
