It's lunchtime on a weekday, but inside the candy store Caramella at Hötorget in Stockholm, it's already getting crowded.
Among the customers are Lotta Malmberg and Vibeke Pålhaugen, who are going to buy candy for the office today. The forecast that all candy buyers are expected to spend around 200 kronor per person seems reasonable, although a bit low, thinks Lotta Malmberg.
Yes, Easter is long, you know, adds Vibeke Pålhaugen.
Mostly, it's more candy for the kids than usual.
They get much, much more than they would have gotten on a regular weekend, says Vibeke Pålhaugen, who sends the kids on an Easter egg hunt.
There should be many eggs too. It's better with many small ones than one big one.
Like Christmas Eve
Lotta Malmberg says that Easter at her place is starting to resemble Christmas Eve.
It's both presents and candy and everything.
Yes, yes, there are high expectations. It shouldn't just be candy, agrees Vibeke Pålhaugen.
17-year-old Elliot Maas Rinderud, who works in the store, says that he and several others are newly employed, and that they have increased staffing during Easter.
A billion might seem unreasonable, but 200 kronor on average feels reasonable, he says about the candy forecast.
Some buy for 14 kronor, others for 2,000 kronor, but then it's for a whole family. If you take the average, it might be around 200, he continues.
What do you most want in your own Easter egg?
Sweet candy, above all. I mean, I love everything, I'm a real candy lover. Sour candy, like those green super-sour frogs, I can think is a bit unnecessary, it hurts your mouth, he says and laughs.
Passing on the Tradition
Elin Ovansjö and her daughter Nova have their favorites clear (chocolate and clubs, respectively).
I don't want jelly, I don't like soft candies, absolutely not, says Elin Ovansjö.
Hard caramels, says Nova after a moment's thought about what she doesn't want in the egg.
Elin Ovansjö doesn't think she'll shop in line with Svensk Handel's forecast.
I'm a single parent with two kids, so I have to think a bit more about the economy. But it's a tradition, and I think it should be passed on.
The sales during the week leading up to Easter are expected to amount to 8.8 billion kronor in the daily goods trade, according to Svensk Handel.
Eggs are, according to the report, what Swedes value most on the Easter table, followed by herring, salmon, and meatballs.
Easter celebrants are expected to spend an average of 200 kronor per person on candy, which, according to the forecast, gives a total candy sales of just under one billion during the week.
The report is based on a consumer survey answered by 1,000 people and Svensk Handel's trade barometer, which is distributed every month to 450 randomly selected daily goods retailers, specialty goods retailers, and wholesalers.
Source: Svensk Handel
