Zipping in to Sweets from Heaven, the new shop on Link Street between Bullring and Grand Central, I oohed and ahhed at the brightly coloured treats on every wall. It reminded me of the kind of shop you'd find on Times Square in New York, nowhere near as big but designed to be a feast for your eyeballs.
The new addition to Birmingham is Sweets From Heaven's first in the region, with shops down south but nothing in our neck of the woods.
A blast from the past
It's right next to the Little Dessert Shop and right over in the corner of the adjoining wall, I got a Birmingham 2016 throwback. Boxes of bright, American breakfast cereal line the wall, Froot Loops and Lucky Charms. It reminded me of that time where you could sit under the watchful gaze of Baby Sinclair from early 90s TV show The Dinosaurs and pay for cereal by the bowl in that unit next door.
Cereal Killer Cafe only lasted from 2016 until 2018 but, at £12.99 for a box of Froot Loops, that lost Birmingham tradition of eating really expensive sugary breakfast scran is back and in business.
Pick 'n' mix perils
I couldn't afford it, honestly. So I moved over to the pick 'n' mix. Now, if anyone is going to get into trouble at a pick 'n' mix, it's me. With no idea of how much things weigh in reality and with a price tag of £2.79 per 100g, I couldn't trust myself near the little gummy skulls and fizzy bits so I turned my back on that section for fear of accidental bankruptcy and looked for some lesser seen treats.
I found them almost immediately. There's brands I recognised, but types of sweets I didn't. Yes, we know Nerds, but Nerdy Gummy Clusters I'd only seen on TikTok. I knew Mike and Ikes, but I didn't know they did a 'Thrill Ride Mix' or a selection based on ice cream truck flavours. These were much easier to understand: £6.19 for each 283g bag of Mike and Ikes and £3.70 for the Laffy Taffy.
A bag of Dr Pepper Cotton Candy caught my eye, but at £6.99 for something that'd disappear almost instantly on my tongue, it had to be another strategic 'no'.
More American imports
I got a jolt of joy seeing Jolly Ranchers on the shelf, remembering in the mid-90s when they launched in the UK for a spell. There were yet more fun alternative versions to choose from, including Heat Wave Gummies with a spicy exterior (£5.89 for 170g), but that I put back when I saw the colour additives 'may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children' because I struggle with hyperactivity enough as is.
Sour Punch Bites, Rips Rippin Reds, Dizzy Dolphins, Warheads, a range of Oreos, Pop Tarts and Swedish Fish, the options were plentiful. They are in the drinks fridge too, with different cans of Monster Energy I hadn't seen before, a bunch of different kinds of Fanta, AriZona pops and Gatorade.
Price considerations
Considering there are so many imports, it makes total sense that the prices would be high. They've got to get them to Birmingham, but I'd be lying if I didn't say some of it made me wince. Unless I've got a special occasion in which I want to delight someone with something they've never seen before, or I have cause to tank up on E102 and E129 for extra zoomies, I don't know if it'll be a regular stop on my circuit.
It's worth checking out though, in case it sparks anything for you when you go. Heed this warning before you do though: don't let your little kids load up their own pick 'n' mix bag without due care and attention, lest they blow six months of pocket money in one giant gummy go!
