This trend is noticed by Gintarė Greiciūnė, marketing manager of the “Candy POP” store in the outlet center “Outlet Park” located in the capital’s shopping and leisure center “Ogmios miestas”. According to her, buyers have long been no longer satisfied with a product just being tasty – it must surprise, evoke emotion, or become an experience that they want to share with others.
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When tasting is no longer enough
For those seeking gourmet flavors, visiting “Ogmios miestas” and the “Outlet Park” located there is truly worth it. Almost 30 gourmet food stores await buyers daily in one place, offering almost everything – selected cheeses, quality meat and fish, farmers’ vegetables, dairy products made in Lithuania, and a wide variety of choices from almost all over the world.
However, “Candy POP” stands out in this variety with a youthful philosophy that reflects the latest trends and nurtures an unconventional approach to sweets. “Very often people come to us driven by curiosity – they are looking for exactly the product they saw on social networks. It can be boldly said that ‘Candy POP’ has become a place where internet trends turn into real experiences,” says Gintarė Greiciūnė.
Not only where buyers discover new products is changing, but also what they expect from them. According to the interviewee, sweet taste alone is no longer enough – more and more often, people seek more intense or unexpected sensations: sourness, spiciness, saltiness, unusual texture, or even sound – an interesting crunch when biting or chewing the product.
“Today, so-called experiential treats and snacks are very popular. We have quite a few ‘challenge’ format products – from very spicy or salty chips to the ‘Twister’ challenge. They are bought not just to be tasted – such a product becomes an activity and shared experience at a party with friends,” says Gintarė Greiciūnė.
She adds that the title of best-sellers is held by peeled (peeling) gummies, which have become very rapidly popular and established worldwide. Their uniqueness lies not only in the taste – before eating, the gummy must first be peeled, turning an ordinary sweet into a kind of ritual, a game.
A new category of discoveries – drinks
Despite the abundance and changing trends, the most significant changes are happening not on the shelves of sweets or snacks, but drinks. According to Gintarė Greiciūnė, drinks today are one of the fastest-growing parts of the “Candy POP” assortment.
“We do not limit ourselves to new flavors of classic brands – we look for global novelties that Lithuanian buyers have not yet seen or tasted,” says the marketing manager of “Candy POP”.
One such direction is functional drinks, which challenge ordinary lemonades not only with taste but also with different product properties and the story created around them.
“A good example is the concerts of the global megastar Pitbull in Lithuania. Even before the summer concert, we brought the functional drink ‘Vita POP’ to Lithuania, with the artist himself joining the team. We are interested in offering the buyer not only a new taste but also a broader context around it – music, people, games, news. Thus, ‘Candy POP’ becomes a kind of bridge to a broader POP culture,” she says.
The “Squishies” phenomenon on “Candy POP” shelves
According to the “Candy POP” representative, today buyers increasingly seek not only sweet taste. More intense sensations are becoming popular – sourness, spiciness, unexpected textures, or even the sound of eating heard in ASMR content videos. Moreover, not only new flavors become popular on social networks.
“Sometimes toys or accessories that become rapidly popular also appear on ‘Candy POP’ shelves. One of the most prominent examples of recent months is soft, squeezable, often collectible toys called ‘squishies’. Now we are observing another toy rapidly gaining popularity on social networks – interactive collectible characters ‘LamaTama’. Such innovations clearly show that our buyers’ curiosity today is not limited only to what can be tasted,” says Gintarė Greiciūnė.
“Our strength is not only the opportunity to discover an unusual sweet but also the visit experience itself. ‘Ogmios miestas’ is a place where people come to stay, not just to shop quickly. Therefore, we offer a short but intense journey through the world’s sweets and drinks innovations,” she invites to visit the “Candy POP” store.
You can find the “Candy POP” store in “Outlet Park”, Verkių g. 31C, Vilnius. Its working hours: Mon–Sun – 10:00–20:00. More information about “Ogmios miestas” and “Outlet Park” gourmet food stores can be found here.
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