Wondering what to get your sweetheart? Most popular Valentine’s Day candy by state revealed

Valentines Candy By State

Now the scoop on which sweet treats are the most popular this Valentine’s Day in each state and some key takeaways.

CandyStore.com crunched the numbers from 16 years of our online bulk candy store and industry partners – seen in the interactive map above – to learn which candy each state loves. And don’t worry if you’re on mobile – you can still see the results in the chart down below.

Here are some of the key takeaways from our data.

Conversation Hearts Lose Ground To Heart-Shaped Boxes

The saga of Sweethearts conversation hearts candy has been marked by upheaval since 2019, after Necco’s dissolution led to its brands being scattered among various acquirers. The transition to new ownership for Sweethearts resulted in a temporary market exit in 2019, causing a significant dip in conversation hearts’ sales by over 24%.

2020 saw the return of Sweethearts, though in limited availability. Challenges persisted under the new stewardship of Spangler, with printing issues leading to many candies featuring smeared or entirely absent messages, resulting in a considerable batch of blank candies.

In the face of these challenges, Sweethearts and conversation hearts overall staged a comeback, particularly shining in 2022 with Spangler’s fresh sayings. Nevertheless, this year has seen a shift in consumer preferences, with conversation hearts losing ground to heart-shaped boxes of chocolates. They now hover closely at 10.2% and 10.1% of total candy spending, respectively.

This evolving trend underscores a dynamic candy market, where traditional favorites like conversation hearts must continuously innovate to captivate the hearts and tastes of consumers.

Rivarly Building Between Hershey Kisses And M&M’s?

Hershey‘s Kisses have been making their way up the list of the most popular Valentine‘s Day candy. Hershey‘s Kisses picked up one more #1 spot this year and several runners up and third place finishes as well, gaining ground on M&M’s.

M&M’s, which had been making steady progress up the chart for the last few years, got knocked off the top spot in two states last year, Oregon and Pennsylvania. By whom? None other than Hershey Kisses.

This year, Heart-shaped boxes of chocolates knocked off M&M’s in both Kansas and New Jersey, allowing Hersheys Kisses to take a lead over M&M’s for the first time. 

Valentine’s Day Candy Quick Facts

Here is a table with each state’s winners: