For 10 years, sweet-toothed Vancouverites and visitors have known Robson Street’s The Candy Room as the biggest destination to get rare, limited edition and exotic candy from across the world.
On March 20, the shop—owned by husband and wife duo Maya and Rami Hawari since 2016—celebrated a grand re-opening after having temporarily closed for a renovation to make the shop more eye-catching and easier to navigate. Now, custom murals, updated lighting and floor displays have brightened the spot.
A section specifically dedicated to “trending items” and “viral TikTok sensations” such as Australia’s Cadbury Clinkers, a variety of international Pringles flavours, KFC-inspired jelly beans and Amos melody lollipops is now easy-to-spot in the store.
“We wanted to build a space that feels nostalgic yet current, where customers can discover viral, limited-edition and hard-to-find sweets from around the world,” says co-owner Maya of the new renovation.
“The colours, the layout, making it easy to move around plays a big role [in making people happy],” Rami adds. “We tried to work with the design to have everything accessible and reachable to everyone.”
Inside the shop, more than 400 bulk candies can be found—including hard-to-score items from countries such as the United Kingdom, USA, Sweden, Japan and the Netherlands.
The Hawaris’ long-standing heritage in the import candy industry gave them an advantage when selecting candies to stock.
“I came up from a family with a candy background, manufacturing export, and with some experience and the family background, I was able to come up with this idea of having candy from all over the world [and] have a broader import of different specialty candy, bringing it all under one roof,” Rami tells BCBusiness, noting that he was the first importer to stock Sweden’s Bubs candies.
“Nobody knew about [Bubs], but then it went viral. We had special sources from Europe, so that was one of those challenging products, but we were the first to bring it into Canada before it went viral,” he says.
Though other importers now have their hands on the much-loved candies, The Candy Room is more dedicated than ever to keep bringing in rare goodies and keeping the Vancouver community on its toes.
“The 10 year milestone is more than a celebration. It’s a reinvestment in the Robson and West End community that has been our home for a decade and a reflection of our commitment to stay innovative, experimental and trend forward,” says Rami.
The Candy Room is located at 1218 Robson St., Vancouver
