Tangy Shop: Canadian retailer specializes in '90s Indian candy
Lately, our appetite for all things 1990s is insatiable.
From throwback soda revivals to interactive mall pop-ups, the ’90s are back in full force.
Tapping into this nostalgia is Tangy Shop, an online candy and rare snack retailer that specializes in Indian treats from this era.
Tangy Shop is based in Brampton, Ontario, but ships worldwide, bringing its curated selection of Khatori, Chaapat, Churan Sticks, and far more to both Indian immigrants and others who have a taste for rare snack foods.
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Dished talked with Tangy Shop owner Amandeep Singh about what motivated them to start the shop and what defines the ’90s Indian treat.
“As a person with an entrepreneurial mindset belonging to an Indian background, and a candy lover myself, I found it very difficult to find Indian candies here in Canada,” Singh says.
Singh wanted to create a place where people could reliably go to find the kind of candies and treats they were able to get in India, starting with 15 different types to launch the store.
Courtesy Tangy Shop
“As we started growing, people started inquiring about products that we did not have. So, we started adding those to our inventory,” Singh explains.
“We proudly now have 50+ products available. Our goal is to reach 100+ varieties in the next three months.”
From chips like Bingo Mad Angles (in flavours like Achaari Masti and Masala) to Cadbury chocolate varieties to Chand Sitare (star and moon-shaped candies), the shop is fully stocked with sweet nostalgia.
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Many of the folks ordering from Tangy Shop have an Indian background, Singh says, who “have memories of eating them in their childhood.”
“We also see many customers who came to Canada in ’90s as immigrants and now they are ordering these candies for their Canada-born children and grandchildren to provide the taste and experience of Indian candies to them as well.”
But more and more people outside of the Indian diaspora are ordering from Tangy Shop now, too.
For Singh, this candy is more than just a sweet treat ā it’s a connection to a home country and an important cultural background.
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“The taste of Indian candy is so unique and different compared to Western candies. My favourite is Mango Masti candy (which is made from melted mango pulp puree),” Singh shares.
Just four months into running Tangy Shop ā which operates out of Singh’s home basement ā the business has already grown and hopes to continue on that upward trajectory: “A long term goal is to open a retail store in Brampton first, and a very very long term goal is to open multiple locations throughout Canada in coming years.”
You can browse all of Tangy Shop‘s unique offerings on its online shop, which ships all across the country.