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Foam candy — skumgodis in Swedish — is one of the most distinctively Swedish candy traditions. Unlike gummies (which are dense and chewy) or hard candy (which is brittle), foam candy has an airy, light texture achieved by whipping air into a gelatin or pectin base during production. The result is a candy that melts in the mouth with a gentle sweetness and a delicate, pillow-like texture.
What Is Swedish Foam Candy?
Skumgodis is made from sugar, glucose syrup, and a gelling agent (traditionally gelatin, increasingly pectin for vegan versions), whipped to incorporate air. The aerated mixture is molded into shapes — cars, bears, skulls, strawberries, bananas, and dozens of others — and allowed to set. The foam candy category sits between marshmallow (very soft and airy) and gummy (dense and chewy) in terms of texture.
Ahlgrens Bilar: The Iconic Foam Car
The most famous Swedish foam candy product is Ahlgrens Bilar — the car-shaped foam candy in red, pink, and white. Bilar has been Sweden's best-selling single candy product for decades, making it not only the icon of Swedish foam candy but of Swedish candy culture overall. The car shape, the three colors, and the distinctive soft texture are recognizable to virtually every Swede. Blog article: Ahlgrens Bilar complete guide.
Vegan Foam Candy in Sweden
The growing demand for vegan candy has driven significant innovation in Swedish skumgodis. Bubs pioneered the pectin-based vegan foam candy approach, producing a full range of foam candy shapes and textures without gelatin. Today, vegan foam candy options are widely available in Swedish lösgodis. See: Vegan Swedish candy guide.
Common Swedish Foam Candy Shapes
- Bilar (Cars): Ahlgrens Bilar — the king of foam candy shapes.
- Skalle (Skull): The Bubs Skalle, combining foam texture with sour coating.
- Jordgubbar (Strawberries): Strawberry-shaped foam pieces.
- Bananer (Bananas): Banana-shaped foam candy with banana flavoring.
- Björnar (Bears): Bear-shaped foam candy.
Foam candy (skumgodis) is aerated during production, giving it a lighter, airier texture that dissolves more easily. Gummy candy is denser, chewier, and more elastic. Foam candy typically melts in the mouth more quickly, while gummies require more chewing.
Swedish foam candy blog article | Lösgodis pick-and-mix guide