Sweethearts (also known as conversation hearts) are small heart-shaped

sugar candies Sugar candy is any candy whose primary ingredient is sugar. The main types of sugar candies are hard candies, fondants, caramels, jellies, and nougats. In British English, this broad category of sugar candies is called ''sweets'', and the n ...

sold around

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

. Each heart is printed with a message such as "Be Mine", "Kiss Me", "Call Me", "Let's Get Busy", or "Miss You". Sweethearts were made by the New England Confectionery Company, or

Necco Necco (or NECCO ) was an American manufacturer of candy created in 1901 as the New England Confectionery Company through the merger of several small confectionery companies located in the Greater Boston area, with ancestral companies dating b ...

, before being purchased by the

Spangler Candy Company The Spangler Candy Company is a privately owned international confectioner that has been manufacturing and marketing candy since 1906. Headquartered in Bryan, Ohio, Spangler's products include lollipops, candy canes, and marshmallow circus peanut ...

in 2018. They were also previously made by the

Stark Candy Company The Stark Candy Company, originally the Howard B. Stark Company, was a candy manufacturer founded in 1939, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was a competitor to Necco and manufactured products including candy hearts, candy raisins, Mary Janes, peanut ...

. Necco manufactured nearly 8 billion Sweethearts per year. Similar products are available from

Brach's Brach's () is a candy and sweets brand of Ferrara Candy Company. History In 1904, Emil J. Brach invested his $1,000 life savings in a storefront candy store. He named it "Brach's Palace of Sweets" and it was located at the corner of North Avenu ...

and other companies. A similar type of candy is sold in the UK under the name

Love Hearts Love Hearts are a type of confectionery manufactured by Swizzels Matlow in the United Kingdom. They are hard, tablet-shaped sweets in various fruit flavors featuring a short, love-related message on one side of the sweet. They are an updated ...

History

Oliver R. Chase invented a machine in 1847 to cut lozenges from wafer candy, similar to

Necco Wafers Necco Wafers are a sugar-based candy, sold in rolls of variously flavored thin disks. First produced in 1847, they became the namesake and core product of the now-defunct New England Confectionery Company (Necco), which operated near Boston, Mas ...

, and started a candy factory. Daniel Chase, Oliver's brother, began printing sayings on the candy in 1866. He designed a machine that was able to press on the candy similar to a stamp. The candy was often used for weddings since the candies had witty saying such as: "Married in pink, he will take a drink", "Married in White, you have chosen right", and "Married in Satin, Love will not be lasting". The heart-shaped conversation candies to be called Sweethearts got their start in 1901. Other styles were formerly produced such as lozenges, postcards, horseshoes, watches, and baseballs.

Line extension A product line extension is the use of an established product brand name for a new item in the same product category. Overview Line extensions occur when a company introduces additional items in the same product category under the same brand n ...

s carrying the Sweethearts brand include chocolates and sugar-free hearts. Candylol

In the 1990s, Necco vice-president Walter Marshall wanted to update some of the sayings and retire others, including "Call me", "Email me", and "

Fax Fax (short for facsimile), sometimes called telecopying or telefax (the latter short for telefacsimile), is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material (both text and images), normally to a telephone number connected to a printer o ...

me". The romantic expressions continue to be revised for young Americans. Necco received hundreds of suggestions a year on new sayings. Necco produced the hearts year-round, but mixing of colors and packaging were ramped up beginning in September to meet the demand for the product at Valentine's Day. Approximately of hearts were made per day, which sells out in about six weeks.New England Confectionery Comp (2010): Sweethearts
/ref> The company produces 8 billion hearts per year.

Flavor change

In 2010, the classic pastel candy formula was abandoned. Sweethearts were made softer with vivid colors and new flavors. These new flavors included sour apple, strawberry, and "spring fresh." The changes to the flavors and messages were unpopular with some fans.

Bankruptcy and return

In 2018, Necco declared bankruptcy. The original plant closed and their candy brands were sold off. The rights to Sweethearts were acquired by

. With the purchase of the brand by Spangler, Sweethearts were unavailable for Valentine's Day 2019 as Spangler set up production of the confections in a new plant. Sweethearts returned in 2020 with the original flavors from before Necco's 2010 change, but due to equipment problems, the familiar sayings were largely either incomplete or missing entirely.

References

External links

NECCO's website
{{Necco brands Brand name confectionery Holiday foods Necco brands Products introduced in 1901 Valentine's Day

History

Flavor change

Bankruptcy and return

See also

References

External links