BonBon Swedish Candy Co. has opened a theatrical Fish Counter inside the FAO Schwarz flagship at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, adding an experiential retail format to a brand that already reaches consumers through more than 1,900 Target locations nationwide.
The installation, which debuted November 11, transforms a traditional candy counter into a staffed performance space where working actors — doubling as candy specialists — take orders, scoop imported Scandinavian sweets by the pound and package purchases in custom containers. The offering includes exclusive bundled gift sets, seasonal holiday advent calendars and gift towers, as well as grab-and-go displays for self-service shoppers.
The Retail Concept
The Fish Counter format is modelled on traditional fishmongers' counters — produce displayed in bulk, priced by weight, sold with practiced theatricality — transposed onto the confectionery category. The concept extends BonBon's core brand proposition: introducing American consumers to lördagsgodis, the Swedish Saturday candy ritual in which the act of selecting, mixing and purchasing sweets is treated as a deliberate occasion rather than an impulse purchase. Founded in 2018 on Manhattan's Lower East Side by Swedish co-founders Selim Adira, Robert Persson and Leonard Schaltz, BonBon now operates eight branded retail locations alongside its mass-market Target presence and a growing e-commerce channel.
"At BonBon, we have a saying: Growing up is a trap. And if there's one place in the world where that philosophy rings true, it's FAO Schwarz," said Leonard Schaltz, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of BonBon Swedish Candy Co. "We wanted to create something that brings out the kid in everyone."
Why FAO Schwarz
The FAO Schwarz flagship at Rockefeller Center is among New York City's highest-traffic tourist destinations, particularly during the November-to-January holiday window, giving BonBon direct access to the out-of-town visitor segment that over-indexes on experiential and gift retail spending. David Niggli, Chief Merchandising Officer at FAO Schwarz, described the pairing as a natural extension of the store's positioning: "Bringing BonBon's theatrical Fish Counter to our FAO Schwarz flagship at 30 Rock combines the playful craft of Swedish candy with the immersive, joyful experiences our guests cherish most."
The timing aligns with accelerating operator interest in experiential confectionery retail, a format that commands higher per-square-foot productivity by converting dwell time into incremental transaction value. For BonBon, the FAO Schwarz counter also functions as a brand-building vehicle in a market where the company competes for mindshare against both domestic specialty candy retailers and the growing number of European confectionery importers targeting U.S. consumers.
Footprint and Distribution
The FAO Schwarz installation marks BonBon's eighth branded retail location and sits alongside a distribution strategy that spans mass retail, direct-to-consumer e-commerce and now high-footfall experiential venues. The brand's presence across more than 1,900 Target stores — a channel that Swedish and European confectionery brands have increasingly prioritized as a path to national scale — indicates that the FAO Schwarz counter is an awareness play rather than a volume driver. Holiday advent calendars and gift tower SKUs available at the counter are positioned to capitalize on seasonal gifting demand, a category that specialty food retailers have reported growing at a consistent clip in recent years.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
