Sugarfina

This little gem of a sugar-​fix is hidden in Old town, but worth the search. We were greeted at the door and had a little private tour as we were the only peeps in there. Great décor, beautiful visual arrangements and good service. We walked away with their Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Cashews and their seasonal «Hey Pumpkin». we’re not typically sugar fiends, but the price is right ($ 7 – 8) per box. makes a perfect gift as well — they have almost every kind of gun drop, chocolate nut and themsome. A must see!

I still like this concept of this place because they make easy and good gifts for girls who like candies/​chocolates and the packaging is really cute. My two favorite candies are the fuji caramel apples and the sour sugar lips. I don’t mind paying their high prices because the store has a lot of overhead (high rent in Old Town, fancy packaging, free samples etc). but one thing I have to note is that the service is super inconsistent for such a bougie seeming place. I came to this store twice in a one week period to buy gifts for three candy loving friends and my experiences could not be more different.
On 9−18−15, I came in the store 15 minutes before closing time but all of the employees still asked me if I wanted to try anything and made awesome recommendations. The girl who rang me up tied a white ribbon on the square gift box and was super friendly and we made small talk even though the store was closing in 5 minutes. I was in and out in 10 minutes and my purchase came out to $ 33 and some change.
The second time I came to this store (9−23−15 before dinner time), I was the only customers the one male employee with a bushy beard wasn’t helpful at all (too busy with his iPhone). I didn’t care that he was checking his phone (we all do that at work) but it was sort of lame that he didn’t express any interest in trying to help me out or make any recommendation like the first time I visited. The second time, I bought 2 of the square gift boxes for gifts. I filled one with caramels and chocolates and the other one with mostly gummies. I was kind of struggling to carry 4 little plastic squares without dropping one and the employee still didn’t even offer me a hand or a basket. Not sure why he stayed behind the counter the whole time – I repeat there were NO OTHER CUSTOMERS BESIDES ME. The kicker was he also charged me $ 1 for asking for a separate bag. The additional dollar for a bag is store policy I guess, but it was annoying that he already rang me up without even asking if I wanted a separate bag for each of the gift boxes. It wasn’t until he started putting both gift boxes into one huge bag that I had to ask him for separate bags. I paid for the extra bag with cash but I felt like he could have just thrown it in for free since he was the one who neglected to ask me in the first place and basically neglected me from the moment I walked into the store… Strangely he also didn’t tie a ribbon or offer to tie a ribbon on either of the boxes. The white ribbon (or lack thereof) stood out to me because every time I have gone to a Sugarfina, a girl has rang me up and they ALWAYS offer a ribbon on the box. Maybe tying a ribbon is a girl thing…
Note to Sugarfina management: The Dude with the beard who works on Wednesday afternoons needs more training in customer service and in ribbon tying.

Stopped by yesterday to purchase some gifts (two large boxes if gummies) — and when I first come in there was no one … I mean NO ONE attending the store. Which to me was very off-​putting because I felt unwelcome; like I was intruding. I walked around for a few moments before a sales rep. come out from the storage area.
Sales rep: very nice, offered samples right away and showed me different «box sets»
After making my final decision on the boxes I was went to check and was attended right away. But BIG PROBLEM — the store’s Ipad/​check-​out machine was not working. Usually this would have not been a problem but I was in a big rush and this kinds of problem is just unprofessional. The sale’s rep. did not want to run my card a second time because he was afraid that I would be charged twice which to me was by far the nicest thing about this store (YOU GO SALES REP!) After checking-​in with another person in the back he ran my card again and this time it worked …
Overall — OK candy
Good service
Bad check-​out machine

so great! great choices, great taste, great samples! The employees on 8÷29÷15 were awesome as well. Super friendly and helpful. A+++++

Service was pretty good. There was one guy who was very attentive to my friends and I. He offered many samples and gave insight to his own personal favorites. The candies themselves do not taste extraordinary for the price. They’re a nice novelty to try once in a while but one experience is good enough for me.
I bought the bubbly bears which is the champagne gummy bears with the sour sugar coating. It was $ 8 and they put it in a bag with tissue paper. It would be a nice gift but I don’t think I would have boxes of it lying around at home.
This place is located in Old Town in an alley area behind Sephora.

This place is one of the cutest candy stores! They’re located down Hugus Alley, so they’re not on the main road and might be easy to miss. I like just walking around and checking out all the cute stuff in here. They usually have some free samples too! Their dark chocolate sea salt caramels are to die for! My friend first got me these as part of a gift and they were devoured in one sitting. So when we happened upon this location in Pasadena, I had to buy more! They are addicting (although a bit pricey). I call this the «Tiffany’s» of candy stores, haha. And the packaging is super cute! They said a lot of people come here to take engagement photos — I can see why. And yes, I’ll be back for some more dark chocolate sea salt caramels!

Love the candy selection at Sugarfina… I just rather buy it online than going into their store.
I arrived last weekend and no one ever asked me if I needed help. I was looking for some candy for a candy bar and I just paid for a couple samples and left the store.
Don’t worry, I won’t stop buying your candy… I’ll just keep buying it online.

I had a great experience this morning at the store and was surprised by the assortment of grown up candy selection. I decided to bring my family tonight to the store. The associate, who worked there tonight was not only not friendly but was discriminatory towards my family. You do not need to YELL «DO YOU NEED A RECEIPT» when the person was not deaf. Also, a girl accidentally dropped a box of candy and the associate who shall remain nameless, but tall with a sleeve tattoo, decided to ask her in a condescending way if someone dropped a box of candy. She quickly told him that she is purchasing the item that she dropped.
Overall, the store is supposedly cater to people seeking high end experience however it fell short of that for me tonight.

This place is kind of my guilty pleasure. Without a doubt, Sugarfina is about the experience as much as it is about the products.
Its doors are a bright Tiffany blue and everything else, with the exception of some accents, is white. I was greeted by associates both times I went and offered samples. The mango gummies were divine, but the fruit yogurt gummies were are not my favorite. I ended up getting a cube of the Queen of Hearts ($ 7) after having a sample of it from the associate. Samples are wrapped in adorable individual packages that read «We Samples».
If nothing else, it’s worth stopping by to take a look at the exquisite interior décor and read the story of how the shop came to be.

Sugarfina is now my favorite candy store, not only to tickle my tastebuds but also to give as gifts. My first exposure was the Costa Mesa store in South Coast Plaza, and I’m SO HAPPY to find that they opened a place in Pasadena!!!
You cannot go wrong with any of the candies here. Not only are they cute, but also delicious and unique. The staff here are super friendly and welcome you with samples as you enter the store. They can also get you pre-​packaged samples from the back if you want to try other flavors.
I have tried Champagne Bears, Champagne Bubbles, Hearts Afire, and Rum and Cola. The champagne flavored candies have a unique taste that does not taste like champagne per se but has a soda-​like taste. It’s hard to explain in writing. You just have to taste it to know it. Hearts Afire is a spicy-​gingery yet at the same time sweet kind of candy. I know it sounds bleh but it actually tastes really good! It definitely has a kick to it and is definitely a very unique candy. I would definitely recommend trying this out if you are up for the adventure. As for the Rum and Cola, It tastes like gummy cola to me, but less chewy.
I am definitely coming here for my future candy cravings and to look for gift ideas. The reason I gave it 4 stars is because of the price. Regardless of how good the candies taste I cannot justify the $ 7+ price tag…

This place is amazing!!! Not only do you want to buy everything you see, it makes you want to go home and do some remodeling lol. They have samples for everything and the customer service is fantastic!!!

Grown up candy! There are a few specific treats I really like from Sugarfina and for that reason, we stop in occasionally. I was happy to see a new location opening in Pasadena. Great addition to the other shopping nearby.
My favs are the Champagne Gummy Bears, Champagne Bubbles, Peach Bellini — yes! I know, I see it too — there’s a trend here, so let’s toss in some chocolate! The Dark Sea Salt Carmel’s are delish too!
They’ll let you try anything you’d like which is nice. I’d definitely recommend stopping in. These little boxes are perfect sweet gifts to surprise anyone with and their bags and tissue paper add the finishing touch to the product.
Here’s my old review for the Glendale location that now appears to be closed

A chic candy store for adults and it’s the perfect place to find a gift when you’re out of ideas for that special someone. Have shopped here on three occasions, once at the original location at the Americana on Brand and twice at the new location in Old Town Pasadena.
Pretty cool story how this store idea came to be. It turns out that the owners saw Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on their third date, and this movie became the inspiration to their store. It’s their goal to find candies all over the world and offer them in their store. Thank you for sponsoring the LA Conservancy’s Last Remaining Seats screening of Willy Wonka, and thank you for the $ 10 gift cards!
Candies are already packaged in plastic boxes carrying about 3 to 4 ounces each and priced around $ 6 to $ 9 each. Yes, Sugarfina is a little pricey, and this is the reason why I only gave Sugarfina 4 stars instead of 5. Do make sure you have a lot of time to spend at the store since there are so many choices available. Your first visit will be overwhelming for sure. There are two candy samples available each day that are offered at the door, but don’t be afraid to ask for samples of other candies. The candies can be boxed up in quantities of 3 or 8 (bento box), and the store will even add ribbon and put the your chosen candies in a beautiful gift box.

We received a few $ 10 candy credit cards a few nights ago while watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at the Orpheum Theater. The owners gave each audience member a candy credit card. Wow! These are people who are so passionate and generous with what they do and share. We enjoyed everything about the store especially sampling the candy and chocolate… kumquat chocolate, berry vanilla pie, all sorts of tart and gummy candy. Many of the treats are imported from other countries, Sweden, Germany, Greece and Italy to name a few.
This is a great shop to pick up a gift for a loved one and they do a superb job with their package design and card.
We walked away with big smiles on our faces and a bag of yummy candy. Oh my son was so sad to leave!

I was very disappointed with the associates because we weren’t greeted when we walked in. Also we weren’t offered any samples, but other people were. We had to ask them to try their sample of the day. Also one of the associates was texting while working. But the candy is great!

Clean new store with lots of candy to choose from. I was excited to see the new location open up right before I got to Pasadena.
The cashier guy seemed to care more about running fingers through his hair than greeting or communicating with the only few customers in the store. Didn’t feel comfortable, so left w/​out trying it buying anything.
Update: I added one start to my original review because of the owner reaching out to me with apology. I appreciate her try to set things straight at the new location. Hopefully the issue gets fixed and customers get to enjoy a fun sweet environment and yummy samples. Good luck!

Really overpriced candy. Tiny cubes will cost you a bundle.

GROWNUP PROBLEMS
There I stood in Sugarfina: an adult man in business attire, chewing on sour gummy candy samples, feeling a bit wrong.
I ended up in this store last night because the bright décor looked inviting as I walked by. They’re in the grand-​opening phase. The girl working there was super-​eager and tailed me around the store with samples to try.
Damn, those candies were good! Seeing the coke bottles and swedish fish on display reminded me of childhood… a simpler time… when life’s most difficult dilemma was after school at the corner market deciding whether to get a Ding Dong or 3 Musketeers.
Why do we create stress for ourselves as grownups? How did we become slaves to the pursuit of money? Why overwork ourselves for the fanciest ride, swankiest clothes, or biggest pad? As a boy, it was bliss WITHOUT any of these materialistic things. The sweetest joys were small and simple, just like those sitting right here in Sugarfina.
I excitedly picked out 3 flavors to take home: bacon toffee, italian lemon, & bubbly bears. She rang up the register and it was like $ 25. Fukk.

The concept of this store is remarkably aesthetic to the eye. This is the only reason why I’m giving this store 2 stars.
My husband and I purchased 5 candy cubes and they all tasted like regular candy but we ended up paying about 40 bucks for them… I understand the concept, however it should be artisan candy that’s extremely unique and can’t find anywhere else.
However the reason why I rated it so low wasn’t for the prices, or the candy. It was the rude encounter I had with the sales associate. We were helped by a tall young man with glasses, and he just stood around watching us around, playing with his Apple Watch with an attitude. It made us really uncomfortable. He wasn’t friendly, did not say a word to us until I had to say something about wanting to sample something (which I saw in the sign that sampling is welcome). Even then he was standoffish and acted as if we were bothering him. It wasn’t until another associate came out of a door from the back area who finally helped us without feeling judged. He actually let us sample a few things and that made the experience more bearable.
I understand we weren’t dressed to impress and maybe that’s how this store might sometimes treat their clients based upon their appearance which really saddens me. I have never felt so insulted before by an associate before.
I hope Sugarfina fixes this because we want to give it another chance.

This is NOT Sweet Factory or the Walgreens candy section (not that there’s anything wrong with that!) Sugarfina is a very chic candy store. Not your typical red vines, jelly beans, and gummy bears but more of a gourmet-​inspired, luxuriously presented and wrapped sugarlicious experience. Candies are already packed for you in clear cube boxes but your job is to treat yourself (or someone special) with some never-​before-​seen confections. Staff is friendly and will offer assistance with your choices as well as samples! Most cube boxes start at $ 7. The wrapping and especially the famous tying of the ribbon is exemplary. Keep in mind the Americana at Brand store is now closed with Old Town Pasadena being the new location which is somewhat hidden off busy Colorado Blvd next to the Origins store. If you are looking for a special gift this place will be sure to please!