National candy company Lolli and Pops will be opening its first Louisiana location in the Mall of Louisiana around June 25.
Bear Silber, vice president of marketing for the San Francisco-based company, says the Baton Rouge mall was selected as the first location in the state because Lolli and Pops is a “premium brand and the Mall of Louisiana is a premium mall, so it seemed like a good fit.”
Even though the mall already houses several stores that sell sweets, Silber calls it a “candy desert,” lacking any specialty candy stores. He says Lolli and Pops will offer customers a “virtual world” of candies divided into themed rooms. It will feature a gumball room, a Wonka room, a library and a nostalgia room holding candies popular decades ago.
Describing the candy store chain as “a purveyor of sweetness,” Silber says it also carries a wide selection of chocolates and other confections from around the world. Varieties of candy found in other countries, but difficult to purchase in the United States—such as the Green Tea Kit Kat bar—also will be available, Silber says.
“Our selection is much more premium than you would find in a typical candy store. Even though we carry gummy bears, we carry the most premium gummy bears you can find, as well as all the flavors of typical candies,” Silber says.
Lolli and Pops will occupy about 1,500 square feet in the Mall of Louisiana, which is slightly smaller than the chain’s typical stores, which measure about 2,000 square feet, Silber says. The candy store is taking over the space where Apricot Lane previously was housed. Apricot Lane moved to a larger location in the mall earlier this year, says Mall of Louisiana General Manager Tony Stephens.
About a dozen Lolli and Pops stores are spread out around Oklahoma, Texas, California, Virginia, Maryland and Illinois. Along with the Baton Rouge store, the company is working to open a new location in The Woodlands, Texas. The chain was founded about four years ago, and it merged with California-based Powell’s Sweet Shoppe last year. The company owns more than 30 candy stores across the country, though not all under the same brand, Silber says.
—Deanna Narveson
