Top Valentine's Day Candy by State
We mashed up data and candy to make a really cool interactive map. There were some awesome findings, and heaps of conversation hearts and chocolate to dig into. Plus, the trends we uncovered were pretty entertaining.
People are gonna be shelling out big bucks this Valentine's Day - the National Retail Federation's survey says we'll be spending a whopping $25.9 billion, which is even more than last year's $23.9 billion. And it would be a record-breaking year, except 2020 was $27.4 billion! Ah, the pre-covid days.
The number of people buying candy for Valentine's Day is expected to be at a new record high with 57% of consumers.
That's the macro view. We've also got the scoop on which sweet treats are the most popular this Valentine's Day.
CandyStore.com crunched the numbers from 15 years of our online bulk candy store and industry partners - check out the interactive map above to see 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.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Conversation Hearts Dominate over Heart-Shaped Boxes
It was a rough couple years starting in 2019 for Sweethearts conversation hearts candy. After Necco got ripped apart and its brands sent off to various bidders, Sweethearts' new owner took more time than anticipated to get their feet under them. In fact, Sweethearts weren't available in 2019 at all! As the most popular brand of conversation hearts (Brach's makes a lot of them as well), the sales of conversation hearts overall were down over 24%.
In 2020, they were back but only a limited supply was available. As new owner Spangler hurried to get them out, they ran into some printing issues and the cute little sayings written on them were distorted and blurred. Quite a few of them were blank - no words at all. Doh!
The last two years they broke through again, reclaiming their dominance with a particular vengeance in 2022. With Spangler introducing all new sayings on Sweethearts, conversation hearts made a heroic comeback in 2021, and all seems to be going very well for the chatty little cardiacs.
Hershey Kisses Moving in on M&M's gains?
Hershey's Kisses are quickly making their way up the list of the most popular Valentine's Day candy. Hershey'sKisses picked up two #1 spots this year and several runners up and third place finishes as well. 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, Oregon and Pennsylvania. By whom? None other than Hershey Kisses.
Cupid Corn Back to #1 in Michigan
Just when we thought they were fading away, cupid corn made a comeback last year. After claiming a new #1 state in Nebraska, candy corn also regained the #1 spot in Michigan, where it had fallen as far as the nimbler 3 spot in recent years after a long time top V-day candy for the state.
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:
TOP VALENTINES 2023 | 2ND PLACE 2023 | 3RD PLACE 2023 | |
---|---|---|---|
Alabama | Candy Necklaces | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates |
Alaska | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Cinnamon Bears |
Arizona | M&M's | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts |
Arkansas | Hershey Kisses | Conversation Hearts | Ghirardelli Gift Box |
California | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | M&M's |
Colorado | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts | Hershey Kisses |
Connecticut | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | M&M's | Conversation Hearts |
Delaware | Hershey Kisses | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Hearts |
Florida | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Chocolate Roses |
Georgia | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Chocolate Roses | Conversation Hearts |
Hawaii | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Candy Necklaces |
Idaho | Conversation Hearts | Hershey Kisses | M&M's |
Illinois | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Roses | M&M's |
Indiana | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Roses |
Iowa | M&M's | Conversation Hearts | Ghirardelli Gift Box |
Kansas | M&M's | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Ghirardelli Gift Box |
Kentucky | Chocolate Roses | Conversation Hearts | M&M's |
Louisiana | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | M&M's |
Maine | Chocolate Hearts | Ghirardelli Gift Box | Conversation Hearts |
Maryland | M&M's | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates |
Massachusetts | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Chocolate Hearts |
Michigan | Cupid Corn | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts |
Minnesota | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | M&M's | Conversation Hearts |
Mississippi | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Roses |
Missouri | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Hershey Kisses |
Montana | Chocolate Hearts | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates |
Nebraska | Cupid Corn | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Chocolate Hearts |
Nevada | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Roses |
New Hampshire | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Hearts |
New Jersey | M&M's | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts |
New Mexico | Chocolate Roses | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Candy Necklaces |
New York | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Cinnamon Bears |
North Carolina | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Cupid Corn |
North Dakota | M&M's | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates |
Ohio | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Cupid Corn | Conversation Hearts |
Oklahoma | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Conversation Hearts | Chocolate Roses |
Oregon | Hershey Kisses | M&M's | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates |
Pennsylvania | Hershey Kisses | M&M's | 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&M's | Conversation Hearts |
Vermont | M&M's | Conversation Hearts | Candy Necklaces |
Virginia | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Cupid Corn |
Washington | Conversation Hearts | Heart-Shaped Box of Chocolates | Chocolate Roses |
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 |