A SWEET shop selling rare imported goods which went viral on TikTok has expanded to a new location in Salisbury.
Sweets and Sour, at 21 Cross Keys, opened its doors for the first time on Saturday, March 23.
Owner Charlie Wells, 23, and partner Georgia Conlan, 25, alongside their hardworking team, spent 16 days renovating the former Richmond Classics shop in Cross Keys Shopping Centre.
Speaking moments after cutting the ribbon to let a frenzy of customers into the shop, Charlie said: "It looks amazing. The team have worked so hard to get it how it looks.
"I could never imagine having a shop this size and looking this good. I can't believe I own it."
Georgia added: "I'm really proud of how we have gone from being a small business starting in my mum's kitchen to having two shops."
Charlie said most of the customers he spoke with were Salisbury locals however some die-hard fans drove for "two to three hours" to watch the doors open for the first time.
Ricky Kennedy, 30, travelled 80 miles to Salisbury from Uxbridge with mum Karen, 50, for the opening and filled a basket with imported American crisps.
Ricky, who has been a keen follower of Sweets and Sour on TikTok since November 2023, said he came to Salisbury to "support the team".
"The shop is amazing, it's huge," he added.
The shop was completely gutted and Charlie seized the content opportunity and documented the full transformation for TikTok.
@sweetsandsourstaines THE FINAL DAY BEFORE WE OPEN! #sweetsandsour #salisbury #newshop ♬ suono originale - spotify songs
Three years and two months ago, a then-19-year-old Charlie had just lost his job as a holiday rep as a consequence of the Covid pandemic and the couple agreed to start the business as a side hustle to raise enough money to eventually go on holiday.
While they still haven't been on that holiday, it isn't because they can't afford it. The growth of Sweets and Sour has been "insane", according to Charlie who said the business has turned over £1.2m since its inception.
The pair amassed 160k TikTok followers by filmed themselves packing online orders, taste testing quirky imported sweets and now frequently live stream from the tills in-store.
This success led to the opening of their first shop in Egham and now Salisbury, which is more than quadruple the size of the Surrey store.
Charlie doesn't plan on slowing down as he already has his heart set on a Southampton store which he hopes to open later this year.
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