Oldham shop Kandy Baby has started the ‘Sour Challenge’ – and only half of the people who try it manage to finish the challenge.

Inside Kandy Baby, on Yorkshire Street, you’ll find an array of sweet treats from across the globe.

Treats from the UK, America, Japan, and Australia are all on offer. They even sell Nigerian Fanta – complete in a large 500ml glass bottle.

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The shop itself is light and spacious, a deliberate design choice by owner Sonny Shah, who opened the shop around 18 months ago.

“The colour scheme is on point, there’s enough room for wheelchair access, it’s not claustrophobic when you come in. The artwork, the décor is a little bit Willy Wonka chocolate factory,” explains Sonny.

However, I’m not here to marvel at the shop’s looks. I’m here to try an idea which has seen the shop go viral on TikTok.

The Kandy Baby account already has more than 12,000 followers on the app, and 116,000 likes.

 

@theoldhamtimes We went down to try @kandybaby_1's viral 'Sour Challenge'. #Oldham #smallbusiness #soursweets ♬ original sound - The Oldham Times

 

The ‘Sour Challenge’ is one of Sonny’s most recent inventions. The free-to-enter challenge is simple – keep a ‘Mega Sour Cherry’ – by British sweet company Barnetts – in your mouth for two minutes, without pulling any faces.

While it sounds simple enough, only around half manage to complete the challenge.

The 39-year-old owner tells me: “It’s something every kid can do. You see some of these challenges like the ‘one chip challenge’ and certain challenges, and they’re pretty hard, to be fair.

“We wanted to do something that was a bit more for all kids. All kids can do it, and they find they can actually do it and they get happy over it.

“The challenge is absolutely free, so they get a free shot at it, and it gives an opportunity for kids which might not have the money to come in and do it, and it’s a bit of a laugh as well. We get a wonderful reaction, kids are lining up to do the challenge.”

From Abbey Hills himself, Sonny added that he wanted to use a British sweet in the challenge.

He said: “They’re Mega Sour sweets from Barnetts, it’s a UK company as well. I know everyone’s into all American stuff and everything like that, but we thought because it’s a British company as well, we wanted to do something that’s going to catch on on TikTok because it’s British.

“A lot of the kids have started buying a lot of the British sweets, so we’re just trying to bring that back in as well at the same time.”

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When I tried the challenge myself, I was sceptical. Just before I gave it a go, a woman had come into the shop and tried the challenge.

With no reaction, she said she couldn’t taste anything – making me wonder if it had all been overhyped.

After the sweet first touched my mouth, I thought it might be the same for me.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I can safely say that the sweet was the sourest thing I’ve ever tasted. I lasted a paltry 30 seconds out of the two-minute goal before having to spit the sweet out into a tactically placed tissue – meaning I failed the challenge.

I could still feel where it had been on my tongue a few hours later.

Those who think they can beat my attempt can find Kandy Baby at 112 Yorkshire Street, in Oldham town centre.

The shop is open from noon to 8pm Tuesdays to Thursdays, 11am to 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, and 1pm to 8pm on Sundays. It is closed on Mondays.

The shop can be also be found on TikTok at @kandybaby_1.