Does "Europe" include "UK" (I mean not geographically but in terms of candy sweetness)?
I had coworker bringing some sweets from visit in UK and those felt extremely sweet to me. I grew up in Europe but live in US, and it felt sweeter than US candies.
I don’t know about the UK, but when I notice other candy from other countries is less sweet than the US, it’s not a direct comparison. They’re usually different types of treats, and my reaction is : wow you can make a candy out of something other than sugar or corn syrup. Maybe it’s dairy based with actual dairy, or nut based with actual nuts, but it can make an excellent candy even without the buckets of sugar
Hmmm, so I'm starting to have theory that with local confectionary one already knows what they like and what they don't, and when someone brings candies from another country you're trying candies that normally wouldn't eat at home so they might seem too sweet, too sour, etc...