Candy Lab

Stopped by the Candy Lab on Halloween to grab a few sweets. Being an american I was mildly shocked by the American food/​candy wall and the prices. That said I was not here to buy a box of Lucky Charms. Picked up a box of bean boozled and gummies. Cute store in a good location, will candy again!

I discovered Candy Labs the day before Halloween, In search of the party game «Bean Boozled». I walked through the doors and american candy heaven greeted me! Im from the United States so this was a welcomed change of pace from the loads of Cadbury thats eyed me in stores across Dublin. Candy Labs has everything from Reeses spreads to cotton candy… Prices are marked up, but not too bad if you need a candy fix and cant find the item elsewhere! Highly recommend this candy stop, the staff was very sweet (see what I did there?). Ill be back!

Be prepared to pay some serious dosh for a bag of cheetos… nearly 5 euros! I go there when I’m craving something from home… but only as a treat. Some stuff in there is in irish shops. It is fun tho to oooo and aaaaa over all the treats I’ve enjoyed all my life :) worth a walk through and maybe even spend a 5er for kicks.

Candy Lab is an American candy store. It is the first stop for me to go to pick up a treat as it has a very nice variety of stock. Full of American favorites of mine such as chocolate flips, pretzel mnm’s and lucky charms.
However I have docked 2 stars for the following:
1– There are certain products available that are highly over priced. For example Golden Grams are around € 8 a box when you can purchase the same size box in dunnes stores for under € 4. If these products are your business, you should make it a priority to not overprice products widely available in local supermarkets.
2– I have been in this store a good few times and I have found that the service is pretty poor. There is a certain staff member who is very unfriendly, even why you try your hardest to be friendly with them.
It’s the last thing you want when you go to a candy store for a treat. Having worked in retail myself, I can understand that you may not be feeling in top form for customers every day but a smile is really not to much to ask in such a friendly inviting décor.

I love this store.
The biggest problem with it is it’s too popular. Sometimes when you get in there some stuff is out of stock — peanut butter M&Ms I’m looking in your direction.
While American chocolate is not as good as it should be, the different candies keep you coming back for more.

An apple a day keeps the dentist at bay… I just wonder how many you’d need to eat after a trip in here…
Desperately in need of a sugar injection, with barely enough energy to schlep (yes I did just say schelp) myself around town, my eye got drawn to a giant multi-​coloured cross erected on a hot pink wall, with a pink haired, green trouser-​ed, blue bowtied looking scientist staring out the window. Oh yes, just the kinda pharmacy I was looking for.
It’s all in here folks. Fizzing candy, Reese’s everything, chocolate covered pretzels, Hersheys kisses and hugs, Pop tarts, and anything else that is guaranteed to make your teeth hurt.
As well as the pre-​packaged stuff, they also have about 148 boxes of various sweets that you can mix n match, stick in a bottle, and chose your very own special label for. The price range from € 3 for 100ml to € 9 for 500ml. (Choose the size at your peril!!!)
As if this wasn’t enough to ensure a trip to Dr Molar, you may also gorge further on milkshakes, ice cream floats and sundaes. And round it off with a nice cold carbonated drink, sure ye may as well.
Candy Lab — a fizzy candy-​coated extravaganza of sugar.
Do. It.

This shop brings me back to my youth. A wall full of candy to your right, a wall full of Betty Crocker cakes and cookies, Lucky Charms cereal and marshmallow fluff to your left. I got a tooth ache just looking at all of the goodies that Candy Lab had to offer.
It’s a bit pricey, but it’s worth it for those fun sweets that you can’t find anywhere else. To top it off, they have canned pumpkin. If you’re not familiar with it, I’m sure it sounds odd… eating pumpkin out of a tin but have you ever tried my moms homemade pumpkin pies? I can make you a believer!

I was going on a date and was a little early. Not wanting to look like an idiot I took cover at the Candy lab. I didn’t regret it… They have everything my inner 6 year old loves and longs for. So there I stood amongst lucky charms and twizzlers wanting to buy the whole shop but I contained myself however everytime I walk by I make sure to pay a visit and just buy a little thing in there.

I passed by this place yesterday and all I can say is I was like a kid in a candy shop!!!
to be honest all I can write about is how disgusted I am at the price of things here! The mark up is phenomenal! Reeses puffs cereal nearly € 10 they cost $ 4 in the USA thats roughly € 3! Marshmallow fluff (my Fav) € 5 — if u pop across to Avoca you can pick this up for € 2.50. Pop tarts nearly € 6 — granted these were flavours I’d never see before but still roughly 100% mark up! I know these items are imported but come on!
I couldnt even look around anymore as I was so horrified!

I had heard about Happy Pills on Unilocal,so just had to check the place out when we happened upon the place on Saturday.
To be honest, I wasn’t in a pick ‘n’ mix mood. But my partner spotted the ice cream counter and immediately things were looking up. The nice girl behind the counter offered us tasters too. She explained it was Irish made and they used milk from Jersey cows… extra creamy… mmmm.
I went with the Chocolate Shortcake and my beau the Turkish Delight. The Chocolate Shortcake was yum, I can recommend. My partner said the Turkish Delight got a bit sickly before he could finish it.
5 EUR for two single scoop cones. I thought the type of cone I picked was small too. Oh well.
Next time maybe I will be in a fruit salad and lemon bon bon mood :)

Happy Pills looks like a pharmacy run by the Powerpuff Girls, so it’s a fun place to let your inner child run amok.
The only problem is the double hangover after a binge there. First you have a wicked come-​down from the sugar-​buzz, then you realise you emptied your wallet for the sort of sweets that give Irish dentists nightmares.
The selection is quite good for such a small unit, and the have products which I haven’t found stocked anywhere else. It takes a special kind of genius to out-​do Fallon & Byrnes on junk food, so kudos there.
I just can’t get past the price. € 2 for a pack of Reese’s Pieces; so that’s a 100% mark-​up on the corner-​shop on the Rathmines Road. And it seems to run right across the shop. I can definitely give myself diabetes for a lot less!

Thanks to Unilocal on this one!
I saw Happy Pills as the «Review of the Day» and spotted Teddy Grahams in one of the pictures. Since then, I’ve been on a mission. I finally dropped in yesterday with my boyfriend and practically had a heart attack right there on the spot.
«They have Reese’s Puffs cereal!»
«I see that!»
«They have SNYDER’S honey-​mustard and onion pretzeeeels!»
«Yes…»
“THEY HAVE PRETZEL M&M’S!!!“
After a little hyperventilating I calmed down (ok, I might still have retained that crazed look in my eye) and perused the merchandise. What they did not have, to my disappointment, was Teddy Grahams.
Still, I wandered around the immaculate store like, well, a kid in a candy store. I finally picked out a huge jar of Skippy’s peanut butter, pretzel M&M’s, and Snyder’s pretzels and brought them to the counter. Once there, my ever-​so-​helpful boyfriend pointed out the ice cream and asked if I was sure I didn’t want any. Well, when you put it that way… I had a cream soda float (they were out of root beer) and he had a ginger ale float. The floats were yum, but the tiny straws made them impossible to sip — I’ll opt for a spoon next time.
The review loses half a star because there were several empty spots on the shelves and they were out of many products — teddy grahams, root beer among them — which they won’t get in for another 1 – 2 weeks. The other half star is for the prices… some of the items (the HUGE jar of peanut butter) were reasonably priced considering the importation costs, however many of the others I have purchased for less in various other specialty shops.
Even so, I am planning on becoming a regular here and have already spread the word amongst my friends and workmates.
Recommended for Kids ages 5 – 75 and Homesick Americans.

Just made my first visit to Happy Pills for an after-​dinner sugar fix. I got the € 5 medium sized bottle and I am happy with the variety I was able to stuff into that little thing. I suggest layering gummies for cushion and flexibility.
I was happy to discover they sell some of my favorite guilty pleasures from America, albeit at exorbitant prices:
Reese’s Puffs cereal (candy in a bowl)
Cinnamon Toast Crunch!!! the best bfast cereal ever created
Libby’s canned pumpkin (killed myself looking for this near xmas)
Big Red chewing gum (HOLY SH*T I now have a local supplier)
The glove left my hand chalky and smelling of latex and the label thing was sort of kitschy/​stupid. I’ll probably be back… but just to look or if I have an emergency need. I seriously can’t believe the prices here: € 6.50 for a pack of Big Red converts to almost $ 10 for something that only costs $ 0.77 in the states. That, my friends, is what we call a rip-​off.

I wish candy still excited me as much when I was a kid but alas I have grudgingly moved on from tooth-​pain inducing, sugar-​highs.
However, good concept, colourful and eye-​catching place, and nice to see American home-​baking ingredients available on the shelves.
The main offering is the open sweets (gumdrops, liquorice, jellies) the standard fare like at the sweet-​factory but the gimmick is cute and would make for cute presents as you can select a medicine bottle size, pick some favourite sweets and get a label on your little pill bottle.
They also do a variety of shakes and desserts. Had the banana split there (my aim: to try all banana splits available in Dublin to see if anyone can recreate the ecstasies of American banana splits) which was OK.
Nothing inventive.
Staff are friendly and helpful.
The big ball-​filled table in the middle has hidden benches underneath so you can sit in and enjoy your sundae.

My friends and I recently went here at the suggestion of a coworker who said they sold the American styled pretzels covered in chocolate. When we got here, the friend who wanted the pretzels was out-​shined in her giddiness by the rapturous exuberance of our other friend and me. When we saw all the American goods (Reese’s, Hersheys, pancake mix, cake mix, peanut butter) we basically had a fit and went wild buying everything (okay, only I did). Overall, I’d recommend any American stop by this place for some staple American ingredients and a bit of nostalgia. They basically have any candy you remember from childhood plus the comfort foods mom always made.
The staff person behind the counter was very chatty and friendly, asking me where I was from, but I may have been the rude one since I just wanted my stuff and didn’t want to talk. The one downside, which is expected, is the price. I spent about 30 euros on 4 boxes of mac n’ cheese and a couple bags of chocolate, but since it’s imported it makes sense.