A store specializing in Nordic candies aims to open this spring in the former space of the vegan ice cream shop Sticky Sweet in East Bayside.

Sødt, a Nordic candy store, will let customers choose form a variety of imported sweets to put together their own candy bags. Photo courtesy of Sødt

Located at 119 Cumberland Ave., the 600-square-foot shop Sødt — Danish for “sweet” — will offer a variety of candies sourced from Northern European countries like Sweden, Denmark and Iceland, as well as England.

Nikoline Østergaard of North Yarmouth, who is launching the business with her sister, Signe, and mother, Liz, said the idea is for customers to build their own bags of candy, choosing from a selection of sweets like licorice, gummies, hard candies, lollipops, chocolates and caramels, including treats from popular Swedish brand Bubs and Danish candy maker Toms. The store will also offer vegan and gluten-free options.

“Candy is candy, of course it’s not healthy,” Østergaard said. “But Scandinavian candy is made with better ingredients, just because they have a few more regulations over there — they don’t have red dye or trans fat, for instance. It’s definitely the better choice of candy.”

Østergaard and her sister grew up in Denmark with the tradition of “Friday candy,” a Scandinavian custom where kids go to the candy store on weekends with family or friends and put together bags of candies for themselves. While visiting Denmark in recent years, the sisters brought candies back to share with friends and came to realize how popular Nordic candies could be here.

The Østergaards hope to launch Sødt by early May.