Sockerbit is taking Swedish pick & mix somewhere it has never been: the natural grocery aisle. The Swedish candy company announced on September 30 that it is partnering with Sprouts Farmers Market to launch packaged candy in nearly 500 Sprouts stores nationwide this October, plus a Swedish pick & mix bulk program in 17 stores across California and Florida. It is the first Swedish pick & mix program at a national natural grocery retailer.
What is actually launching
Two things, on two timelines. The packaged range lands first: a 12-SKU assortment of Sockerbit candy arriving in nearly 500 Sprouts stores during October. Everything is made with no high-fructose corn syrup and no Red 40, with natural flavors and colors.
The more interesting part is the bulk program. Seventeen Sprouts stores across California and Florida are getting a real Swedish pick & mix wall: 12 varieties to choose from, including four that are exclusive to Sprouts. Shoppers build their own bag from the bulk department, exactly like the lösgodis walls in Sweden.
Three new flavors, only at Sprouts
Sockerbit is using the launch to expand its best-selling Dream Series beyond the original Strawberry Dream for the first time. Banana Dream and Sour Berry Dream join the lineup, available in Sprouts bulk. Sockerbit Mallows are also making their grocery debut at Sprouts, led by Sour Peach, a new flavor launching exclusively with the retailer.
Why this matters
Sockerbit introduced Swedish pick & mix to the US back in 2010, and the company has been building the category here ever since. “This launch is meaningful to me because Pick & Mix has always been part of how I grew up with candy,” said co-founder Stefan Ernberg in the announcement. “It is about choosing your favorites, trying something new, and sharing the experience with the people around you.”
A pick & mix wall inside a mainstream natural grocer is a milestone for Swedish candy in America. It puts lösgodis in front of shoppers who have never set foot in a specialty candy store. If the pilot performs, expect more doors.
Sockerbit’s story started small. Husband-and-wife founders Florence Baras and Stefan Ernberg opened their first shop in New York’s West Village in 2010 after pooling some $500,000 in savings. “We opened New York with $8.65 in our account,” Baras told Inc. “We had to succeed.” With no marketing budget, they tapped the city’s Swedish expat network as brand ambassadors, and a second store followed in Los Angeles in 2014.
What this changes is the format, not just the availability. Until now, most Americans met Swedish candy as pre-packed bags at Target or Five Below. The Sprouts bulk wall is the actual Swedish ritual: fill your own bag, pay by weight, mix exactly what you like. If 17 pilot stores become hundreds, pick and mix stops being a specialty-store novelty and becomes a grocery aisle fixture. What the pilot has not revealed yet is bulk pricing, which will decide whether the wall competes with the pre-packed bags on value.
Sockerbit is also still expanding at Target, where its candy landed earlier this year. Read our Sockerbit at Target guide for what to buy there. New to the whole concept? Our pick & mix guide explains how to build a great bag.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Packaged Sockerbit candy arrives in Sprouts stores during October 2026. The bulk pick & mix pilot is already running in 17 stores.
-
Seventeen stores across California and Florida for now. The packaged range goes to nearly 500 Sprouts stores nationwide.
-
Banana Dream and Sour Berry Dream in bulk, plus Sour Peach Mallows. All three are Sprouts exclusives.
-
Yes. The Sprouts range is made with no high-fructose corn syrup and no Red 40, using natural flavors and colors.
-
At Target stores nationwide, from Sockerbit’s own shops, and online.