The Concept
BonBon Swedish Candy Co. opened its actor-staffed Fish Counter inside the FAO Schwarz flagship at 30 Rockefeller Plaza on Nov. 11, bringing a theatrically staged, by-the-pound candy-service model to one of North America's highest-traffic specialty retail destinations. The format — inspired by traditional fishmongers' displays — positions working actors as candy connoisseurs who take orders, scoop imported Scandinavian sweets and package purchases in proprietary containers, exclusive bundles, holiday advent calendars and gift towers. Grab-and-go retail fixtures round out the floor set for shoppers bypassing the full-service counter.
Retail Footprint & Distribution
The FAO Schwarz installation marks BonBon's eighth brick-and-mortar location since the brand opened its first Manhattan shop in 2018. Beyond its owned retail, the Swedish-founded, New York-based brand now reaches consumers through more than 1,900 Target doors — a mass-channel placement that underscores how the imported-confectionery segment has scaled beyond specialty boutiques into mainstream grocery and general-merchandise aisles. The growing e-commerce arm extends geographic reach further still. For operators and buyers tracking the experiential-retail trend in the specialty food channel, the FAO Schwarz counter is a live case study in marrying high-footfall tourist destinations with branded confectionery theater.
Holiday Timing & Trade Context
The November launch is deliberate. FAO Schwarz draws heavily tourist and gift-buying traffic during the fourth-quarter holiday window, giving BonBon's seasonal SKUs — advent calendars, gift towers — prime placement at peak gifting spend. The move also reflects a broader pattern in the specialty-food and confectionery segment: brands using experiential in-store formats to command premium price-per-pound and drive impulse attachment that commodity shelf sets cannot replicate. Leonard Schaltz, CEO and Co-Founder of BonBon Swedish Candy Co., framed the partnership around the brand's core positioning: "We wanted to create something that brings out the kid in everyone."
David Niggli, Chief Merchandising Officer at FAO Schwarz, noted the alignment between BonBon's service model and the retailer's theater-first approach. "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," Niggli said.
For foodservice and specialty-retail operators, BonBon's trajectory — from a single Lower East Side shop to mass-channel shelf space and high-profile experiential counters — illustrates a replicable playbook: anchor cultural credibility in owned retail, scale distribution through national partnerships, and use destination-format installs to sustain brand heat. Coverage of similar specialty-food retail expansions and experiential foodservice concepts tracks how the segment continues to pressure conventional confectionery incumbents on both margin and consumer engagement.
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.
