It’s Valentine’s Day, and an online candy company says it has figured out what gets our candy hearts beating fastest .
In Minnesota, the most popular Valentine’s Day candy is a heart-shaped box of chocolates, according to CandyStore.com, a bulk candy retailer which says it based its conclusion on 14 years of sales data. It put together an interactive map showing favorite candy in all 50 states.
Fifteen other states agreed with us, preferring the classic Valentine's gift to any other Valentine's candy out there. A heart-shaped box of chocolates practically screams old-school romantic movies, preferably paired with a bouquet of red roses.
In Minnesota, the second fave were M&Ms, presumably in red, pink and white.
“M&Ms continue to gain traction,” CandyStore.com reported. “They made gains in several states throughout the country, landing a new No. 1 spot in Vermont.”
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M&Ms sales on Valentine’s Day began when the candy maker introduced Cupid’s Message M&M’s in 2017, the retailer said.
“The re-introduction of White Cheesecake M&M’s helped boost them as well,” it said.
Minnesota’s third favorite? Conversation hearts.
Candy conversation hearts might have fared better in the rankings had not fans had their hearts broken in recent years with the absence of the Necco brand Sweethearts in 2019 and the limited supply in 2020. However, Sweethearts returned to the marketplace in full force in 2021, and this year they include 16 new messages, including, “WAY 2 GO,” “CRUSH IT” AND “HIGH FIVE,” according to the company.
Another possible dampener for the No. 3 favorite is a new flavor; die-hard fans have taken Brach’s Candy to task on social media for a flavor change in their conversation hearts.
“Bummed you changed the conversation hearts,” one person wrote on the company’s Facebook page. “Taste awful. They used to be a real treat.”
To be clear, Brach’s now makes two kinds of candy hearts -- the chalky, slightly more acidic version of the old hearts, and a crunchy new variety called Heart 2 Heart with embossed printing on both sides.
Still, conversation hearts ranked tops in 12 states, including the populous Florida and California, showing that Americans still like swapping messages like “B Mine” and “I’m all yours,” and that the candy would likely do quite well if running for national office.
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Favorites in other states were candy necklaces (Alabama), chocolate hearts (Maine, Rhode Island and Montana), chocolate roses (Wyoming and Kentucky), cupid corn (Nebraska and West Virginia), and Hershey’s kisses (Delaware, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Arkansas).
