Valentine's Candy Hearts will have a different flavor this year
Brach's launches a new flavor for the holiday staple, but isn't getting rid of the chalky-tasting classic
Courtesy: Brach's
It's a memory that permeates most Gen X $TWTR-and-older childhoods. Every Valentine's Day, you would come home from school with an assortment of small Valentine's cards from classmates and at least one box of heart candies. You'd open that box up, pop some in your mouth… and instantly wonder if you had grabbed a box of the teacher's blackboard chalk by mistake.
Conversational hearts, those little confections that have sayings like "Be Mine" and "Love You" stamped on them, have been a tradition for roughly 75 years — and they remain a big seller for Brach's. This year, though, the candy company is offering a new flavor that leans more toward tang than chalky.
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Brach’s Sweet Bright Conversation Hearts will offer an updated taste and texture, the company says. They'll also offer more romantic thoughts, with double-sided printing ("Sweetie" on one side, "Cutie" on another). There will also be some with the American Sign Language sign for "I love you" as well as (natch) emojis.
Flavor-wise, look for a variety. The hearts, which will still be a hard candy, will come in six flavors: Blue Raspberry, Fruit Punch, Lemon-Lime, Orange, Cherry, and Pineapple.
Traditionalists, don't worry. While Brach's is putting the spotlight on the new flavor, the original hearts will once again be up for sale as Valentine's Day draws near.
Brach's makes roughly 3 million pounds of the conversational hearts each year. It's not the only company that makes them, either.
The Spangler Candy Co. makes the flagship Sweethearts candies that many people think of when they picture conversational candy. (They pull in nearly $2 billion a year in sales.) That company bought the rights to them in 2019, after the New England Confectionery Company (Necco) — a 171-year-old company that first made Necco wafers and the chalky candy hearts — was forced to close in 2018 when its search for a buyer fell flat.
As part of that transition, 2019 saw a paucity of the Sweethearts line in stores, but they returned in 2020.