Swedish candies are the trendiest on the planet right now, and a new shop will soon bring a bountiful assortment to Fort Worth. Called Swedish Candy Culture, it's set to open this spring at 3613 West Vickery Blvd., in the former Muy Frio frozen margarita spot.
The store is a project of the husband-and-wife team Crimson and Lukas Nathanson, who met while working in the music industry and later moved back to Crimson’s hometown of Fort Worth. Lukas, a native of Stockholm who moved to the United States after securing a publishing deal in the music industry, quickly realized he would have to import his favorite sweets because they were nowhere to be found in his new home base.
“In Sweden, candy isn’t just candy,” Lukas says. “There’s a whole culture and tradition behind it.”
Starting in the 1940s, in an effort to encourage healthy eating, the Swedish government introduced lördagsgodis, which literally translates to “Saturday candy,” in which both adults and children would limit their sweets consumption to Saturdays.
Lukas has fond memories of going to the candy store every weekend with his parents or grandparents, and he wanted to bring that experience to Texas, he says. He started first with an online store, which launched on February 1.
When the brick-and-mortar shop opens, more than 200 different varieties of Swedish candies will be on offer, ranging from the country’s beloved salty licorice to sour gummies, chocolate, and more. Those candies will be displayed in an enormous candy wall; drinks and other snacks will be available, as well.
Crimson and Lukas Nathanson are opening Swedish Candy Culture in Fort Worth.Courtesy photo
In addition to the store, the Nathansons will be out and about spreading Swedish candy culture via pop-ups at local events and setting up “candy buffets” for kids’ birthday parties, they say.
All the candies will be imported to Texas from Sweden, even those that are produced in other countries, like Norway and Finland. Lukas says he isn’t all that worried about the tariffs levied on the European Union by President Trump, which have spiked the prices of goods of all kinds.
“It does have an effect, of course,” he says of the tariff-influenced price increases. “But it’s not something that will make or break the business.”
Currently, the Nathansons are hard at work getting their space ready to open its doors, and right now, they expect that Swedish Candy Culture will arrive in Fort Worth sometime later this spring.
