One of Sweden’s most iconic candies is officially crossing the Atlantic, as Ahlgrens bilar prepares to roll into Target stores across the United States.
Forget Volvo. Forget Saab.
Sweden’s most-bought car is finally coming to America — and you can eat it.
Ahlgrens bilar, the pastel-colored, car-shaped foam candy that has been a fixture of Swedish candy aisles for more than 70 years, is making its official U.S. retail debut through Target.
Swedish confectionery company Cloetta announced that Ahlgrens bilar will initially be sold exclusively through Target in the United States, with four varieties gradually appearing in stores nationwide and on Target.com throughout the fall.
Target operates more than 2,000 stores across the United States, making the launch a major step in Cloetta’s ongoing expansion in North America.
Four versions are coming to the U.S.
American shoppers won’t just be getting the classic bag.
The initial U.S. lineup will include four varieties:
Original — the classic white, green and pink cars familiar to generations of Swedes
Sour — a tart version featuring the same signature colors
Fruity Duo — featuring raspberry, lemon and tutti-frutti flavors
Sour & Fruity — featuring raspberry, pineapple and peach
According to Cloetta, Ahlgrens bilar is Sweden’s most sold foam candy brand.
And yes, Americans will also be introduced to one of Sweden’s more peculiar pieces of advertising history: Ahlgrens bilar has long been marketed as “Sweden’s most-bought car.”
Technically true. Just probably not what most Americans imagine when they hear “Swedish car.”
A Swedish accident that became an icon
Ahlgrens bilar dates back to 1953.
The candy was created after an attempt to produce marshmallows resulted in something rather different: a chewy foam candy shaped like a tiny car. Instead of correcting the mistake, the company kept making them.
A wise decision, as it turns out.
More than seven decades later, Ahlgrens bilar is one of Sweden’s most recognizable confectionery brands. The exact flavor of the Original cars remains a closely guarded secret, while their white, green and pink color palette and distinctive foam texture have stayed largely unchanged.
The candy has even made it beyond the United States. Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang brought specially made Ahlgrens bilar “space shuttles” on his 2009 mission to the International Space Station, according to the European Space Agency.
America, evidently, was the next logical destination.
Swedish candy is having a moment in America
The timing of the launch is hardly accidental.
Swedish candy has surged in popularity across the United States in recent years, fueled in large part by social media and Americans discovering Swedish pick-and-mix candy, or lösgodis.
Cloetta has already been testing the American appetite for the Swedish candy experience. In July, the company announced a U.S. retail pilot for its CandyKing pick-and-mix concept at DeCicco & Sons stores in New York.
Now it is going considerably bigger.
“This marks another important step in our North American expansion,” Niklas Truedsson, Area President Growth and Chief Pick & Mix Officer at Cloetta Group, said in the company’s launch announcement.
The Ahlgrens rollout also comes amid a broader Swedish candy boom in the United States, with brands including BUBS rapidly expanding their American presence and Swedish candy stores drawing plenty of attention in cities such as New York and Los Angeles.
For Swedes living in America, however, this one feels a little different.
Some Swedish products are exports.
Others are practically childhood memories in a bag.
And sometime this fall, one of those bags will be sitting on a Target shelf near you.
Welcome to America, Ahlgrens bilar. Just remember to stay in your lane.
Featured image credit: Lokal_Profil / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
