Canadian Ikea locations to join in sweet tradition
Swedish furniture giant to sell sugary treats alongside its much-loved meatballs
Swedish meatballs may be in for some sweet competition.
On Tuesday, furniture giant Ikea confirmed their in-store Scandinavian candy shops, called Pick and Mix, will be coming to Canadian locations this fall.
“Lordagsgodis, or ‘Saturday candy,’ (is) a beloved Scandinavian tradition dating back for several decades, in which children were allowed to visit the local store every Saturday for a bag of candy,” an Ikea representative told the Star in an email.
“Lordagsgodis has since grown to include any day of the week when children and adults alike splurge on a special sweet treat.”
In the United States, Pick and Mix candy shops launched at select locations on June 22.
At the U.S. stores, bins boast 45 varieties of sweets such as gummies, sours, marshmallow, chocolate and licorice.
All are made from Swedish recipes and are priced the same at $7.99 per pound.
Ikea hasn’t yet confirmed how much Canadian candies will cost or which sweets will hit our shelves, but all candies will be free of high fructose corn syrup, trans fats and GMOs, a representative said.
According to travel blogs, many Swedish children gorge themselves on candy on Saturdays.
It’s a tradition one blogger compares to the North American tradition of children watching Saturday morning cartoons.
Expats advise foreign sweet-seekers to hit the candy shops early on Saturdays to avoid sifting through picked-over candies.
The Swedish-founded furniture store is well known for their cheap furniture and foods, with Swedish meatballs being a long-loved, well recognized item in the in-store cafeterias. Ikea sells one billion meatballs a year at their 360 locations in 47 countries.
Lordagsgodis candies are available at all of Ikea’s stores in Sweden and will eventually be sold at all 12 locations in Canada.