Swedish sweets: Lördagsgodis and more

Can’t get enough of that one sweet from your holiday in Sweden? Or would you just like to know which sweets are typically Swedish? From the traditional Lördagsgodis to all imaginable variations of chocolate, liquorice and cookies: Here you can find out which sweets are typically Swedish and where you can get them.

Typical Swedish sweets

Even though English and Swedish sweets often look similar, there are some that are particularly typical of the Nordic country and that every Swede knows. Find out which ones here.

Marabou: the most popular Swedish chocolate brand

The Swedes love chocolate. On average, they eat around 15kg per capita every year. However, most Swedes will not think of Lindt or Milka, but of Marabou.

The gold-wrapped bars with the red lettering are a Scandinavian cult. However, the brand doesn’t just sell milk chocolate: flavours such as orange brittle and salted almond are very popular as well. There are also the famous chocolate rolls, cookies and even drinking powder.

Liquorice: from medicine to popular sweet

In addition to chocolate and Plockgodis, liquorice (Lakrits in Swedish) is also a favourite on the confectionery shelves. Liquorice wood, the basic ingredient of liquorice, was originally used as a medicine for stomach upsets. Today, both sweet and savoury liquorice varieties can be found in most Swedish shops and are among the Swedes’ favourite sweets. But if you’re only thinking of black sticks, you’re wrong: there are also colourful mixtures like this raspberry-flavoured liquorice in white chocolate. This makes Sweden the perfect country for liquorice lovers!

Plockgodis: for the Godispåse

Plockgodis (“plucked” sweets) can be found in almost every supermarket. Many people may remember filling small bags with various sweets, gummy bears and chewing gum as children. This has not only been preserved in Sweden, but is also very popular with all age groups. There is usually a wall full of boxes of sweets, chocolate and gummy bears of all kinds, from which a bag can be put together.

Polly: foam sugar in chocolate

Popular in Sweden, but less well known here, are the “Pollys”. The small chocolate-coated marshmallows taste of vanilla, punch and toffee. Cloetta, the company behind the Pollys, claims that it is impossible to eat just one. If you want to know if you can do it, you can get the Pollys online.

Ahlgrens Bilar: Sweden’s best-selling car

Ahlgrens Bilar, which translates as “Ahlgrens cars”, advertise themselves as offering Sweden’s best-selling cars. And they are right. The small marshmallow cars in various flavours are a classic in Sweden. Whether fruit-flavoured, salted or covered in sherbet powder, the little cars are available in many different varieties.

What are Lördagsgodis?

Lördagsgodis, or Saturday sweets, are a Swedish tradition that originally dates back to the middle of the 20th century. The Swedish government recommended that Swedish children should only be given sweets once a week. The reason for this was that many children were diagnosed with tooth decay when they started school.

The “Sockerförsök” in Vipeholm: human experiments on people with intellectual disabilities

The Swedish government researched the connection between sugar and tooth decay in the so-called “Sockerförsök“. In this experiment, the residents of a residential home for people with intellectual disabilities were given different diets with high or low sugar over a period of years. Neither the people themselves nor their relatives were asked for their consent and many suffered serious permanent damage to their teeth. It was not until the 2000s that there was a discussion about the experimental abuse of the residents.

More sweets from Sweden Scandinavia: Desserts from the far north

For more sweets from the far north, take a look at our recipes. There you will find instructions for Scandinavian desserts from Sweden, Denmark and Norway: From traditional kanelbullar to Scandinavian oat biscuits and Swedish strawberry cake.

Buy Swedish sweets

You don’t have to travel to Scandinavia to buy Swedish sweets. Traditional Swedish sweets and desserts are also available elsewhere, as online, for example. While things like marabou chocolate and liquorice might also be available in supermarkets, it’s more difficult with some of the more special sweets.