The Uniquely American Story of Candy Hearts & The Companies That Make Them

Most of us remember the thrill of seeing a Valentine’s card left on our desks in fifth grade, the envelope weighted with candy hearts that bore messages like “BE MINE” and “TRUE LOVE.” As we grew older, we picked up a bag of candy hearts at the store and helped our kids create their first Valentine’s Day cards, carefully doling out candy hearts into each envelope. And many of us still leave Valentines for our favorite co-workers, neighbors and family members, a few candy hearts secured in each envelope. Love them or hate them, candy hearts are an inextricable part of Valentine's Day.

But have you ever thought about who makes these cute little hearts and how exactly they came to be? We’ll take a look at the history of these charming sweets in a minute, but first let’s check in with one candy heart manufacturer, which has unearthed some fun trends with a new survey.

BRACH'S®, the leading brand of conversation hearts in the U.S., conducted a first-of-its-kind survey in 2024 to find out what Americans love most about the iconic Valentine's Day candy. The survey, which polled 2,000 U.S. adults who celebrate Valentine's Day and enjoy conversation hearts, revealed some sweet facts about the heart-shaped treats and some interesting differences among generations and personality types. Here are some fun trends

• Real Love: Americans who favor traditional conversation heart messages are most likely to prefer long-term relationships (67%).

• Modern Fun: Americans who prefer contemporary (e.g., "DM ME") conversation heart messages are most likely to enjoy candlelight concerts (22%) and wear matching outfits with their family (32%).

• Smooth Moves: Americans whose favorite conversation heart message is "LOVE" are more likely to say their family loves doing social media challenges together, like dancing (25%).

• Romantic Fire: Aries favors the "ONLY YOU" conversation heart message (22% marked it in their top 3 messages) significantly more than any other zodiac sign.

The survey also uncovered some fascinating generational trends. For instance, Gen Z and Millennials use conversation hearts to show romantic affection (65%, 62%) or to ask someone out on a date (25%, 23%) compared to and more often than other generations. Gen Z are also more likely than other generations to share conversation hearts with friends (52%) or parents (29%)

But whether you’re a “ONLY YOU” type or a “DM ME” type, something we can all be proud of is the USA-made aspect of America’s favorite Valentine’s treat.

History of Candy Hearts Manufacturing in the U.S.A.

The history of candy hearts reaches all the way back to the year 1847, when a Boston pharmacist named Oliver Chase invented a lozenge-making machine, which he then retooled to make the world's first candy-cutting machine.

He used this machine to make his famous “Hub Wafers,” (“Hub” being a nickname for the city of Boston) and earlier version of what’s known today as the Necco wafer.

Chase eventually fashioned the machine to imprint messages on the wafers, but how he came up with this idea is one of historical debate.

Hub Wafers were especially popular with Civil War soldiers, as they were easy to transport and lasted a long time. Legend has it, Chase was inspired by the romantic letters received by Civil War soldiers on the battlefield and decided to combine these heartful messages with his candy invention, hence the first romantic candy and precursor to the candy heart. Other theories suggest Chase was simply inspired by Valentine’s day cards.

But whatever the origins, candy hearts took off. Chase founded the New England Confectionary Company in 1901 and began producing boxes upon boxes of the conversation hearts. At the time, messages imprinted on the candies bore lengthier messages. Some were wedding-themed, with one inscription proclaiming: “MARRIED IN WHITE, YOU HAVE CHOSEN RIGHT; MARRIED IN PINK, HE WILL TAKE TO DRINK.”

Merging with two other confectionary companies (Ball & Fobes and Wright and Company) the New England Confectionary Company, later known as Necco, would go on to become the largest confectionary manufacturer in the U.S., and during World War II, began producing candy hearts for soldiers overseas at the behest of the U.S. government. By the 1990s, Necco produced 8 billion hearts each year.

In 2018, Necco filed for bankruptcy, and candy heart lovers were faced with significant heartbreak when conversation hearts were hard to find for Valentine’s Day 2019.

Thankfully, Spangler Candy Company (think Dum-Dum lollipops) of Bryan, OH bought Necco, acquiring Sweethearts production.

Meanwhile, Ferrera Candy Company, headquartered in Oakbrook, had been producing their own version of candy hearts for decades under its Brach’s brand.

Both companies have put their own unique spin on the traditional candy hearts. Spangler Candy Company has updated some its messages, with the traditional “CALL ME” message replaced with “TEXT ME.”

Ferrera-made candy hearts boast messages like “Bestie”, “YAAS” and “GOAT” (Greatest of All Time).

Ferrera recently made the news when the company announced plans to open its first North American chocolate manufacturing plant in Bloomington, Ill.

So the next time you’re picking up a bag of candy hearts, know that not only are you participating in a rich part of American history, but also supporting two inspiring U.S. companies.

Sources:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/history-of-conversation-hearts_n_5a72a8e1e4b06fa61b4d60ef
http://histsociety.blogspot.com/2012/02/civil-war-soldiers-and-conversation.html
https://www.spanglercandy.com/our-brands/sweethearts
https://www.ferrarausa.com/news/Brachs-Has-Their-Own-Conversation-Hearts-And-This-Year-They-Say-Things-Like-YAAAS-And-GOAT.html
https://blog.worldsynergy.com/the-history-of-sweethearts-candies-a-valentines-day-favorite/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweethearts_(candy)#:~:text=Each%20heart%20is%20printed%20with,by%20the%20Stark%20Candy%20Company.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necco_Wafers#:~:text=During%20World%20War%20II%2C%20the,continued%20to%20buy%20the%20wafers.