Sweden’s Best-Selling Candy Just Came To Target ― So We Tried It

Ahlgrens bilar, Sweden’s best-selling candy, is officially coming to the U.S. for the first time, exclusively at Target. Known as “Sweden’s Most Bought Car,” the iconic car-shaped candy has been a Swedish favorite for more than 70 years.

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Ahlgrens bilar is launching to consumers nationwide with four varieties: Original, Sour, Fruity Duo (raspberry, lemon and tutti-frutti) and Sour & Fruity (raspberry, pineapple and peach). Made with no artificial colors or flavors, the candy is known for its signature soft, chewy texture and recognizable car shape.

Original Ahlgrens Bilar

Pros: The most unique things about the Ahlgrens bilar candy cars is the shape and texture. The texture has a mild chew to them that is definitely in the realm of gummy, but not all the way there. As the tale goes, the brothers behind the candy set out to make marshmallows and ended up with this candy instead which definitely fits the bill. The candies are unique and they certainly lean into that.

Cons: The original variety of Ahlgrens bilar’s candy features a mix of white, green, and pink cars. The exact flavors of the original cars remain a secret, but I’ll take my best jab at it. White tastes like mild chalk with a bit of spice to it. Green is 100% bubblegum (or adjacent). Pink tastes like some pills that have sat in the medicine cabinet so most of the flavor dissipated over the years.

Sour Ahlgrens Bilar

Pros: These are literally just the original Ahlgrens bilar candies with a bit of sour sugar dusted on. As a non-sour candy eater, the level of the sour powder was the perfect level. Enough to give you a little feedback that you are eating something with a bit of a kick but not enough that I’m left grasping for water.

Cons: I think what’s really starting to settle in is that at best, these candies are just alright. Which is fine. They don’t have to be for me. I already have my favorite candy sorted and it looks like it’s not about to be overthrown any time soon.

Fruity Duo Ahlgrens Bilar

Pros: This is where all the flavor in the Ahlgrens bilar factory went. There’s a big hit of flavor (raspberry, lemon, and tutti-frutti) from this set of candy. You get a slightly different texture from the added foam but it’s still got the same chew as the previous versions.

Cons: Confusingly, the duo in “Fruity Duo” is seemingly not about the flavor. It’s actually about the makeup of the candy. There’s a gummy top and a “foam” bottom to the car. Essentially they’re just a reskinned version of those gummy foam blue sharks you may have seen before.

Sour & Fruity Ahlgrens Bilar

Pros: We’re running out of new things to say here. There’s much of the same elements just all combined. Lots of fruity flavor, a sour coating, and the iconic car shape that we couldn’t possibly do without.

Cons: Someone was messing with the sour coating formula on these ones. For some reason, they have a higher level of sourness to them than the original sour candies. It’s a smidge too much for me so I’d count it as a net negative from the previous form.

Final Verdict

I appreciate that Sweden’s giving us a unique spin on the well-saturated gummy market. While I didn’t discover a new top-tier candy in my life with this taste test, I think the Ahlrens bilar candies could fit into a candy lover’s rotation. That chew alone is worth checking out at least once in your life.