Valentine’s Day is about love and romance and spending money to demonstrate them. This year will be no different. The National Retail Federation is forecasting that, after a strong winter holiday season, Valentine’s Day spending will be strong as well. In fact, they predict it will smash last year’s record by 32%.
If you think some of that is from candy, you’re right!
As Valentine’s indulgences go, candy is a relatively inexpensive one. It’s also become tradition and is a nice and easy gesture to make. That could be why people are expected to spend over $2.4 Billion this year – up $600M from last year.
Using sales data from the past 12 years from our online bulk candy store and industry partners, CandyStore.com has compiled sales data to determine the most popular Valentine’s Day candy. The map above illustrates the favorite Valentine’s Day candy in each state. The results are pretty interesting.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Conversation Hearts Win Streak Ends
Conversation hearts had been rising in popularity for years, and had finally overtaken those omnipresent heart-shaped boxes of chocolates. That all changed last year when SweetHearts conversation hearts were absent from the market. As you can see from the graph above, it had a significant effect on conversation hearts consumed.
The drop was not as large as we predicted it to be. Other brands, like Brach’s, did step into the vacuum left by SweetHearts. It wasn’t enough to fend off heart-shaped boxes of chocolates in their many iterations though.
M&M’s keeps moving up
Last year, M&M’s cracked more top 3 spots than ever. And it’s continuing to ascend the rankings this year. M&M’s claimed 3 more #1 spots this year, taking advantage of a drop-off in conversation hearts in each of those states: Arizona, Kansas and New Jersey.
Since introducing the Cupid’s Message M&M’s in 2017, we’ve seen a rise in M&M’s sales for Valentine’s Day. Cupid’s Mix of Valentine’s Day colored M&M’s has also been very popular. The re-introduction of White Cheesecake M&M’s helped boost them as well.
Cupid Corn Fading Out?
As holiday themed candy corn has trended slightly down the past few holidays, it held relatively steady for Valentine’s Day 2019. Cupid corn even jumped up a spot to #2 in Michigan. They love the corn in Michigan, I tell ya.
So, which Valentine’s Day candy does your state love the most? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Here is a table with each state’s winners:
| State Name | Top Valentines Candy | 2nd Place | 3rd Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Candy Necklaces | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates |
| Alaska | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts | Cinnamon Bears |
| Arizona | M&Ms | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts |
| Arkansas | Hershey Kisses | Conversation Hearts | Ghirardelli Gift Box |
| California | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Roses |
| Colorado | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | M&Ms | Conversation Hearts |
| Connecticut | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts | M&Ms |
| Delaware | Hershey Kisses | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Hearts |
| Florida | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Roses |
| Georgia | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Chocolate Roses | Conversation Hearts |
| Hawaii | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Candy Necklaces |
| Idaho | M&Ms | Conversation Hearts | Hershey Kisses |
| Illinois | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Roses | M&Ms |
| Indiana | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Roses |
| Iowa | M&Ms | Conversation Hearts | Ghirardelli Gift Box |
| Kansas | M&Ms | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Ghirardelli Gift Box |
| Kentucky | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Roses | M&Ms |
| Louisiana | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | M&Ms |
| Maine | Chocolate Hearts | Ghirardelli Gift Box | Conversation Hearts |
| Maryland | M&Ms | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates |
| Massachusetts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Chocolate Hearts | Conversation Hearts |
| Michigan | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Cupid Corn | Conversation Hearts |
| Minnesota | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | M&Ms | Conversation Hearts |
| Mississippi | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Roses |
| Missouri | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Hershey Kisses |
| Montana | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates |
| Nebraska | Chocolate Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Cupid Corn |
| Nevada | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Roses |
| New Hampshire | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Hearts |
| New Jersey | M&Ms | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts |
| New Mexico | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Chocolate Roses | Candy Necklaces |
| New York | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts | Cinnamon Bears |
| North Carolina | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Cupid Corn | Conversation Hearts |
| North Dakota | Conversation Hearts | M&Ms | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates |
| Ohio | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Cupid Corn | Conversation Hearts |
| Oklahoma | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Chocolate Roses |
| Oregon | Chocolate Roses | M&Ms | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates |
| Pennsylvania | M&Ms | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts |
| Rhode Island | Chocolate Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts |
| South Carolina | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Ghirardelli Gift Box |
| South Dakota | Hershey Kisses | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Hearts |
| Tennessee | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Wild Berry Skittles |
| Texas | Hershey Kisses | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts |
| Utah | Hershey Kisses | M&Ms | Conversation Hearts |
| Vermont | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Candy Necklaces |
| Virginia | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Cupid Corn |
| Washington | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Chocolate Roses | Conversation Hearts |
| Washington, D.C. | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts | Cinnamon Bears |
| West Virginia | Conversation Hearts | Cupid Corn | Candy Necklaces |
| Wisconsin | Conversation Hearts | Hershey Kisses | Ghirardelli Gift Box |
| Wyoming | Chocolate Roses | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates |
You know, Valentine’s Day candies just don’t come in shoeboxes any more so you can pick only form what is offered. All this does is show box makers think hearts are a favorite shape.