With its bright, pink shop, the Australian-based confectionary hopes its multi-flavoured sweets will be a hit with customers in Cambodia

Are you just a big kid at heart, craving for those mouth-watering sweets of the past? If you are, Sticky could be just for you.

The Australian-based company specialises in handmade rock candy and was founded in 2000. Now it has a franchise in the new AEON Mall.

“Most of the candies I see [in Cambodia] are imported from China and Thailand. We want something which is personalised for customers,” said Heng Hourleng, owner of the Sticky franchise in Cambodia.

In the bright, pink designed shop, customers can choose the pattern of their sweets, including Block, Half ’n’ half, Four-stripe, Six-stripe and Lots of stripe.

You can even ask for special messages created within the design such as “Thank you”, “I love you” and “Happy Birthday”. Couples can also splice their names together for special wedding treats. “Sticky is a kind of mix of traditional and modern. In some ways it’s very Cambodian,” said David King, founder of Sticky who has worked in the confectionery business for more than 10 years.

After starting the business in Australia, Sticky now has shops in the US and across Asia, including Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. The CHEW Family brought the franchise to Cambodia.

“[The country] has a long traditional culture but at the same time a dynamic and modern, growing economy,” said King, adding that the AEON Mall shop has 40 flavours, including blueberry, passion fruit and mango.

By mixing them, Sticky staff can create any number of combinations. For $6.50, for example, you can buy a 150g jar of single flavoured sweets. A premier mix costs $7.50 while a festive jar is $8.50.

You can also see the sweets being made. The confectioner first pours the syrup on a metal plate. Once it cools, it is divided into bricks, which are separated into candy rolls.

By combining different flavours, patterned rolls about six inches (15cm) wide are created, which in turn are rolled and pulled into 0.2-inch (0.5cm)-diameter strips. The final step is to cut the rolls into sugar grains.

“What they are doing is making sculptures with sugar,” said King. “I want the candy-makers to think of themselves as artists.”

The live show attracted a lot of onlookers at the opening event. “I haven’t seen this before in Cambodia. I had no idea how candies were made,” said Eap Phalla, 17, a student who bought two bags of sweets in apple and cherry flavours.

Sticky, ground floor 0014-2, AEON Mall, #132 Samdach Sothearos Boulevard