Lilla Swedish Candy owners Nic Jansson and Holly Berrigan pose outside their new retail space inside Thornes Marketplace.
Reminder Publishing photo by Trent Levakis
NORTHAMPTON — Believing sweets should be joyful, not junky, Lilla Swedish Candy, previously the only e-commerce seller of Swedish candy, has found a new home inside Thornes Marketplace.
The new business is set to expand on the candy rush and celebrate its Swedish and Scandinavian roots.
Entrepreneurs and married couple Nic Jansson and Holly Berrigan began selling Swedish candy last year after Jansson, who was born in Stockholm before moving to the States, saw a rising tide in the candy’s popularity in the U.S.
“Two years ago, my sister who owns a retail shop in the Cape told me — and she was also born in Sweden and has that Swedish connection — that Swedish candy, she was buying it wholesale and it was really popular,” Jansson told Reminder Publishing. “I did some research and realized that Swedish candy is kind of having a moment in the States right now. It’s really popular. There’re some specific brands that are very popular, but the category overall is doing really well, and because we have a little bit of startup, business and import experience, we started the brand last April.”
Jansson and Berrigan own and operate three other businesses, including a natural wine brand, MYSA, that imports wines from independent producers around the world. Now, after the last year of running the candy business just through e-commerce, Lilla, meaning small or little in Swedish, has become the couple’s latest business and a sweet addition to their work.
“It was a thing where it was meant to be kind of a foray into Swedish candy, and now it’s kind of our largest business. It was meant to be an extra one, and now it’s the one we are focusing on the most because we’re opening the store too,” said Berrigan.
Lilla also offers pre-packed Swedish candy options along with the pick-and-mix setup.
Photo credit: Nic Jansson, Lilla Candy
Lilla offers Swedish-sourced options, all non-GMO, artificial-dye-free, vegan, gluten-free and full of flavor. The candy is all authentically imported from Sweden, and all options follow European Union food regulations. Aside from pick-and-mix gummies, the shop also offers pre-packed candy and chocolate offerings.
At Lilla, candy lovers can mix and match a wide variety of Swedish gummies, sours, licorice and more into their bag. In addition to pick-and-mix, it also offers curated Swedish candy bundles featuring fan favorites and seasonal selections.
Prepacked items will also be offered at Lilla.
“There’s a lot of really interesting kinds of flavors and textures that you get with Swedish candy that you don’t get with American candy. I think because there are fewer synthetic dyes, non-GMO. I think texturally it can be a little softer, chewier and more interesting, and there’s just a lot of variety,” said Jansson.
Pick-and-mix, or lösgodis in Swedish, is a beloved tradition of choosing your own candy adventure. Jansson said he has fond memories of being a kid during his return visits to Sweden and participating in the tradition of lördagsgodis, also known as “Saturday candy,” which added to the overall experience and enjoyment of going to a candy shop and putting together a bag of treats.
“Traditionally you go, and I used to do this as a kid, you go to the store on Saturdays, and you make your little bag, go home, read a book, watch a movie, so there’s a very strong tradition of candy as well,” he added. “I think there is something to the non-GMO thing, the additives thing, the dyes. Our wine brand is a natural wine, and we’ve seen that there were people who still want wine; they still want candy, but they don’t want wine that has whatever coloring added to it. They don’t want candy with Red 40 or Yellow 5 in it. So there’s a lot of natural dyes and stuff too.”
Berrigan added, “Because we do natural wine and candy, I always say we’re doing less bad for you, but still wine, still candy. No health food claims, but still slightly less bad for you. Still alcohol, still candy.”
The couple landed at Thornes after the marketplace notified them that they had open space that could be a great fit for Lilla. After visiting the location, the duo was sold on the opportunity.
“They got us on the scent, and right away we thought, ‘Oh, this is a really cool spot. We went and looked at it and thought we should look around elsewhere too, but what we really liked about this space is that Thornes is just really great to work with,” Berrigan said.
Berrigan and Jansson said they both appreciate the charm of their new space on the first level of Thornes, which includes some stairs leading up to an upper level. The couple is also taking advantage of the location’s character and layout by offering Scandinavian-themed home goods and items tied to the culture alongside the candy. Case in point: the upper space inside the store has been recreated to represent the look and feel of a traditional Swedish cottage and offers other items for sale.
“We weren’t really planning to do that, but the space was just so big, so we walked in and were like. ‘Ok, there’s a specific intention to the whole thing.’ Nic’s family is still in Sweden, so we have a family cottage there that we go back to every summer, and Nic’s dad goes there literally every weekend, so that’s what the upstairs [section] is inspired by. So that’s the candy store, then you walk up the stairs; that’s outside of Sweden. All the houses have that red look and the blue door,” Berrigan said. “It genuinely feels like the inside of the family cottage.”
Jansson added, “It just gives us a little bit more breadth of what we can do here. It’s fun to have some other stuff here too.”
Looking ahead, the Lilla team is excited for the business’s next chapter and opening right before the prime stretch of the holidays and into February. Jansson said the space has already generated a lot of buzz.
“When we started, we were trying to think of a unique name and something that was interesting and could stand out, and we were thinking this is a small little business that we’re starting and we kind of like being very community, cozy, and like a place where people can come in and feel welcome and calm, and not aggressively … in your face about anything,” said Jansson.
Berrigan added, “We tried to make the brand really intentional to be like, it’s little, it’s intentional. It’s something you’re thinking about, and you’re having a nice moment for it, not just stuffing your face. You’re thinking about it, like I’m having this special time for myself. We want our branding to be pretty adult. Obviously, kids like candy, but there’s a lot of whimsy to the Swedish cottage culture, so we’re trying to bring all that whimsy back to adults too.”
For more information on Lilla or to order online, visit lillacandy.co.
Lilla Swedish Candy will also offer Swedish chocolates and other treats.
Reminder Publishing photo by Trent Levakis
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