A previous limited edition from Sugarfina: 4 karat gold-dusted, Dom Pérignon-infused gummy bears

A box of Nerds is soooo very pedestrian, while a bag of Maltesers reeks of bridge and tunnel. 

Luxury and couture candy—aimed towards an up-scale adult market, is the latest trend in sweet bonbons.

Sugarfina

Leading with their tag line ‘Candy for Grown Ups’—Sugarfina is a luxury gourmet candy boutique curated by Los Angeles wife and hubby duo Rosie O’Neil & Josh Resnick. Inspired by their vast travels, they set off to meet with the world’s premium candy ‘artisans,’  bringing only the finest of ingredients back into their pristine boutiques.

Luxe offerings like Kyoto Blossoms, tiny sugar flowers imported from Japan and Baby Champagne Bears sourced exclusively from the Bavarian region of Germany (where gummy bears were invented!) are flavoured in Brut and Rosé. 

…and below Champagne-infused, handcrafted marshmallows dipped in 24K gold, their famed Bling Rings—sculpted from dark chocolate with a thin sugar shell brushed with edible silver and Champagne Bubbles dressed up in tiny white nonpareils—all superb for your swankiest cocktail parties.

With boutiques across the US and one in Vancouver’s Nordstrom’s and a newly minted boutique in Toronto’s Nordstrom’s!

Sweet Saba

Lady in Red: Maayan Zilberman Photo- Steve Earle

 

Lingerie designer-turned baker-turned rock candy confectionista, Maayan Zilberman’s Sweet Saba line offers a multi-sensory experience that is equal parts kitsch and artful design. 

Sweet Saba; Not your granddaddy’s rock candy…

 

The former Israeli and Vancouverite has been showing off her unique wares through a series experiential New York pop up stints, where she currently resides. Back in November, Zilberman created a conceptual ‘Candy Rock and Crystal Bar’ at Fort Gansvort and during February and March a  ‘Lovers Rock’ collection at The Standard High Line Hotel.  

Too beautiful to eat? A pop up display promoting the ‘healing powers’ of Sweet Saba’s gem inspirations.

Zilberman worked closely with a food technologist to create 30 experiential flavours that range in taste from champagne, grass (yes, actual grass!) bubble gum, bacon and whiskey. 

Clients can purchase Sweet Saba mainstays online—our favorite being the mix tape that can be customized with whatever title gives you the coziest nostalgic **feels.**

 

And being that Zilberman is never not dressed to the chicest of New York minute NINES, replete with red lips and her signature sex kitten nails, who can resist the lure of a one-of-a kind tube of lipstick—infused with vitamin c and antioxidants, no less!

Her designs are constantly evolving with each pop up performance, the next slated for the Whitney Museum this April!

Chocolates X Brandon Olsen

 

CXBO chocolates; Not your granddaddy’s Goobers…

 

Few new brands can boast A-List testimonials like Beyoncé’s, but that’s just what happened when through creative channels, QueenB got to taste Toronto’s Brandon Olsen’s delectable CXBO chocolates. “We sent some of our salted caramels for Blue Ivy’s birthday,” says Sarah Keenlyside, marketing director of Chocolates X Brandon Olsen, (also fiancé X Brandon Olsen!) Unfortunately the salt wasn’t suited to Ivy’s toddler taste palate, but Beyoncé was so impressed that she told her assistant that he “should have brought 100 boxes!”

Olsen’s chocolatier comeuppance has been a slow and steady rise after spending years as a chef de cuisine in some of Toronto’s most prestigious kitchens—his inherent love for “all things sugar” finally winning out. “We use really high quality ingredients and I care a lot about the flavour combinations,” says Olsen. “I think it comes from my background as a chef, where the design of a plate is important, but if it doesn’t taste good, your restaurant isn’t going to last very long!”

Luxurious flavour combinations like Lime Ginger Black Pepper, Raspberry Rose Fennel, and Cinnamon Brown Butter are part of the draw, but equally are the distinct artisanal design elements of CXBO’s bit sized chocolates. The moulds are a specific reference to American architect Buckminster Fuller who famously designed geodesic spheres (he did the Biosphere for Expo ’67 in Montreal), the splatter an ode to Jackson Pollack’s famed technique. Their boxes are all individually splatter painted as well, making every box an original work of art. “I’m a Lego guy, always have been,” offers the confection wunderkind, “and I think people who are into Lego as kids are inherently interested in design and colour.“

Holiday themed exclusives; a Valentines gift set and the magnificent Chocolates X Brandon Olsen Easter egg that sold out within days.

 

Presently, you can order Chocolates x Brandon Olsen through their online web site and Shopify, but coming in May CXBO will be opening a College street west location with an open concept kitchen—Willy Wonka styles—Olsen’s favorite childhood film!

***

So is there a price to pay for luxury? Does high design equate to some hefty cha-ching?  Well, yes and no.

Sugarfina’s products were moderately priced all things considered; the exquisite ingredients, the uniqueness of product, the displays and packaging—the overhead of being a stand alone boutique in a tony Bev Hills zip code?

Sweet Saba’s pricing is most definitely on the higher end with a customized mix tapes costing you a cool $40.00 a pop, the lipsticks at $15.00. But the creativity tho? The experiential flavoring tho? The vitamin C and antioxidant infused lip sticks tho?!?! Plus did we mention its KOSHER?!?!

And lastly on the topic of Chocolates X Brandon Olsen which were recently coined as “Too Die For” from a Toronto Life Magazine e-commenter, what is $18 for a box of 9 delectable bites— if not the most reasonable ticket to heaven ever? Also, Beyoncé approved?!

So really, why even try to put a price on zee works of art, n’est pas?

Until we meet again—parting is such SUHWEET sorrow…

XOXO