Tasty treats from around the world at new Penticton candy shop

Photo: Josh Franks, at his new shop Exotix Candy Penticton

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Photo: Josh Franks, at his new shop Exotix Candy Penticton Photo: Chelsea Powrie Photo: Chelsea Powrie Photo: Chelsea Powrie Photo: Chelsea Powrie Photo: Chelsea Powrie Photo: Chelsea Powrie

Pentictonites with a cosmopolitan taste in candy can now find all the flavours they crave at Main Street's newest confectionary.

Exotix Candy had its grand opening Monday, featuring treats and snacks that are hard to come by in Canada.

"It's from all over the world, imported from England, Japan, China, the U.S.," explained owner Josh Franks.

"It's just a ton of unique stuff you wouldn't typically find."

Exotix Candy is a franchise with locations in Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as Richmond, B.C. Franks, a born-and-raised Penticton resident, is friends with the franchise owners in Edmonton and Regina, and figured Exotix should have a spot in the Okanagan.

"I just thought it would fit, Penticton has always had a candy store. Back in the day there was one called Hoot Sweets. And I figured it was kind of a missing thing on Main Street," Franks said.

So far, so sweet. A soft opening for friends and family was a success, Franks said, with plenty of good feedback.

Popular items include the Chinese and Japanese candies, and kids have been head over heels for the uber-sour options.

"I have really realized how much kids love sour candy," Franks said with a laugh. "Ever since I've been open every kid that comes in here wants sour candy!"

Another popular item has been MrBeast chocolate bars. MrBeast is a popular YouTuber, and the bars are currently part of a Willy Wonka-style giveaway — select bars have tickets to win prizes, some of which are lavish.

"Those bars are the first thing half the kids that come in here ask for," Franks said.

Other fun items include Rap Snacks, which are savoury snacks such as chips featuring the names and faces of rap artists, and internet-famous Prime drinks, created by YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI.

Franks's own taste leans towards the hard-to-find chocolates.

"I pretty much ate a whole box of Payday chocolate bars," he said, smiling.

Chocolate lovers can also find unique flavours of KitKats, Oreos and more.

Franks is looking forward to welcoming the community to his shop, and is excited to hear more from customers about what they want.

"Now that I got the store full I can kind of curate a little bit more of what people want, so I have a request list and anything people want, I'm going to do my best to get in."

Exotix Candy Penticton can be found in the 500 block of Main Street next to Sushi Heaven. Find them on Instagram here.