Sweden’s sweet tooth turns sour as coronavirus stirs hygiene fears
28/04/2020 16:33
By Colm Fulton
STOCKHOLM, April 28 (Reuters) - While the coronavirus has
not stopped Swedes from eating in restaurants, drinking in pubs
or playing organised sport, it has halted the country's love
affair with pick & mix candy.
Swedes chew through almost 33 pounds of candy per person
each year - around 15 bags of sugar - more than any other
nation, according to a 2018 study by the Swedish Board of
Agriculture.
Displays of colourful sweets, marshmallows and liquorice are
prominent sections of most Swedish supermarkets. However,
candy-crazy Swedes now give these a wide berth.
Although health authorities have not cautioned the public
against pick & mix, shoppers fear touching the well-handled
shovels and bins of loose sweets.
"I see a lot of hesitation. People hanging around the candy
display, but then walking away, sometimes grabbing something
pre-packaged instead," said Filip Herrstedt, 22, a supermarket
assistant at Coop in central Stockholm.
Swedish sweet producer Cloetta said last week the
coronavirus had "significantly reduced" demand for its pick &
mix candy, as it issued a profit warning for the second quarter.
"I have stopped because of corona," said Saija Hiltunen
while shopping at Coop. "In my head, I can see the virus on the
plastic shovels. It feels stupid to buy it now."
Cloetta has cautioned that it does not expect its Swedish
pick & mix business, which generated 1.8 billion Swedish crowns
($179 million) in sales in 2019, to break even by year end.
Cloetta is seeking to boost sales of pre-packaged candy to
cushion the blow, but Anna Bartholf, the company's marketing
director, conceded that pick & mix held a special and not easily
supplanted place in many Swedes' hearts.
"We as Swedes have a Saturday tradition of treating
ourselves and our families with "lördagsgodis" (Saturday
candy)," she said.
Hiltunen said pre-packaged sweets were not an authentic
replacement: "The experience is different ... there's something
comforting about the ritual of picking it yourself."
(Reporting by Colm Fulton; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
((Colm.Fulton@thomsonreuters.com;))