Smood Sweets Expands to 1,900 Target Stores Behind Candy-Dates Format

Originally reported by NOSH.

Smood Sweets, the Miami-based startup reimagining candy through whole fruit, grew its Target distribution from 300 stores to 1,900 locations nationwide in April 2026, as first reported by NOSH. The rollout was timed to the Easter selling window and followed the brand's launch in late 2025, drawing significant attention from buyers across the natural products industry.

The company's core product, which it markets as "candy dates," consists of a whole pitted Californian date coated in a crunchy candy shell made from plant-based ingredients and free of artificial flavors or colors, per the company. Smood Sweets says it sources dates primarily from California, with supply from Africa and the Middle East depending on the season. The brand's current lineup, per its website, includes Sour Watermelon, Strawberry Bubble Gum, and Sweet Berry Fish varieties, each priced at $30; a sample pack is available at $20. By April 2026, the range had also added a Strawberry flavor, NOSH reported.

Before the Target rollout, Smood Sweets appeared at Expo West 2026, where the brand distributed more than 4,000 samples and drew inbound interest from retailers, foodservice partners, and distributors, according to NOSH. "Candy is one of the most loved categories in the world, but it hasn't meaningfully evolved in decades," co-founder and CEO Oliver Sindlev told NOSH. "We saw an opportunity to create something entirely new: a product that delivers the same joy and familiarity of traditional candy, but built on real, whole fruit." Co-founder and COO Frederic Naayem told the outlet that the Expo West response "exceeded all expectations" and that consumers and buyers alike appeared ready for a new direction in candy.

Why it matters

The Smood Sweets Target rollout signals that a major mass retailer is willing to carve out shelf space for a product positioned between the traditional candy aisle and the fruit-snack set. Dates are rapidly emerging as one of the most talked-about ingredients in modern snacking, with NOSH describing them as shifting from a niche ingredient to a foundation for next-generation products. A format that pairs the ingredient with the sensory profile of classic confectionery is a credible attempt to capture shoppers from both sides of that divide. For the better-for-you candy category broadly, the scale of Smood Sweets' early Target footprint will invite both scrutiny from incumbents and imitation from other emerging brands angling for the same shelf positioning.

What to watch

The more consequential question is whether Smood Sweets has sustained the sales velocity needed to hold nearly 1,900 Target doors through a full retail year.

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