Sweethearts (candy)
Encyclopedia
Sweethearts are small heart-shaped candies
sold around Valentine's Day. Each conversation heart is printed with a message such as "Be Mine", "Kiss Me", "Call Me", "Let's Get Busy", and "Miss You". Sweethearts are made by the New England Confectionery Company, or Necco
. A similar type of candy is sold in the UK
under the name Love Hearts
. Necco manufactures nearly 8 billion Sweethearts per year.
Sweethearts are now available in a variety of assortments to choose from including chocolate, tart, and smoothie flavors.
, and started a candy factory.
Daniel Chase, Oliver's brother, began printing sayings on the candy in 1866. He designed a machine that was able to press on the candy similar to a stamp. The candy was often used for weddings since the candies had witty saying such as: "Married in pink, he will take a drink", "Married in White, you have chosen right", and "Married in Satin, Love will not be lasting".
The heart-shaped conversation candies to be called Sweethearts got their start in 1901. Other styles were formerly produced such as lozenges, postcards, horseshoes, watches, and baseballs. As of 2010, the classic pastel candy formula is being abandoned. Sweethearts will be softer candies with vivid colors and all new flavors. Line extensions carrying the Sweethearts brand include chocolates and sugar-free hearts.
In the 1990s, Necco vice-president, Walter Marshall, wanted to update some of the sayings and retire others, including "Call me", "Email me", and "Fax
me". The romantic expressions continue to be revised for young Americans. Necco receives hundreds of suggestions a year on new sayings.
Necco produces the hearts from late February through mid January of the following year. Approximately 100,000 pounds of hearts are made per day, which sells out in about six weeks.
As of October 2011, Necco has announced that the switch to natural flavors and colorings has led to a significant decline in sales, and so they will be returning their products to the original artificial flavors and colors.
Candy
Candy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added...
sold around Valentine's Day. Each conversation heart is printed with a message such as "Be Mine", "Kiss Me", "Call Me", "Let's Get Busy", and "Miss You". Sweethearts are made by the New England Confectionery Company, or Necco
NECCO
Necco , pronounced "neck-o", is the acronym for the New England Confectionery Company, a manufacturer of candy. It was created in 1901 by the merger of several small confectionery companies located in the Greater Boston area; since December 2007 Necco has been owned by American Capital.The company...
. A similar type of candy is sold in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
under the name Love Hearts
Love Hearts
Love Hearts are a type of confectionery manufactured by Swizzels Matlow in the United Kingdom. They are hard, fizzy, tablet-shaped sweets in a variety of fruit flavours featuring a short, love-related message on one side of the sweet....
. Necco manufactures nearly 8 billion Sweethearts per year.
Sweethearts are now available in a variety of assortments to choose from including chocolate, tart, and smoothie flavors.
History
Oliver R. Chase invented a machine in 1847 to cut lozenges from wafer candy, similar to Necco WafersNECCO Wafers
Necco Wafers are a candy wafer made by the United States-based New England Confectionery Company . Necco Wafers were first produced in 1847 and are considered by Necco to be its core product...
, and started a candy factory.
Daniel Chase, Oliver's brother, began printing sayings on the candy in 1866. He designed a machine that was able to press on the candy similar to a stamp. The candy was often used for weddings since the candies had witty saying such as: "Married in pink, he will take a drink", "Married in White, you have chosen right", and "Married in Satin, Love will not be lasting".
The heart-shaped conversation candies to be called Sweethearts got their start in 1901. Other styles were formerly produced such as lozenges, postcards, horseshoes, watches, and baseballs. As of 2010, the classic pastel candy formula is being abandoned. Sweethearts will be softer candies with vivid colors and all new flavors. Line extensions carrying the Sweethearts brand include chocolates and sugar-free hearts.
In the 1990s, Necco vice-president, Walter Marshall, wanted to update some of the sayings and retire others, including "Call me", "Email me", and "Fax
Fax
Fax , sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material , normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device...
me". The romantic expressions continue to be revised for young Americans. Necco receives hundreds of suggestions a year on new sayings.
Necco produces the hearts from late February through mid January of the following year. Approximately 100,000 pounds of hearts are made per day, which sells out in about six weeks.
Criticism
The drastic changes to the flavors and messages were unpopular with some fans.As of October 2011, Necco has announced that the switch to natural flavors and colorings has led to a significant decline in sales, and so they will be returning their products to the original artificial flavors and colors.
In popular culture
- In the classic book Anne of Green GablesAnne of Green GablesAnne of Green Gables is a bestselling novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery published in 1908. Set in 1878, it was written as fiction for readers of all ages, but in recent decades has been considered a children's book...
, published in 1908, Gilbert attempts to give a pink candy heart with the words "You Are Sweet" to Anne, who promptly grinds it under her heel.
- In the FuturamaFuturamaFuturama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
episode "Love and RocketLove and Rocket"Love and Rocket" is the third episode of Futuramas fourth season. It first aired on February 10, 2002.- Plot :A few days before Valentine's Day, the Planet Express crew heads off to the most romantic city on Earth, Milwaukee, to land a delivery contract from Romanticorp, makers of all things...
".
- In FriendsFriendsFriends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, Janice makes special hearts for ChandlerChandler BingChandler Muriel Bing is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television sitcom Friends, portrayed by Matthew Perry.-Background:Chandler Muriel Bing was born on April 8, 1968, the son of an erotic novelist mother and a cross-dressing Las Vegas star and is of Scottish ancestry. Chandler was Ross...
that say 'Chan and Jan forever'.
- In The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "I Love LisaI Love Lisa"I Love Lisa" is the fifteenth episode of The Simpsons fourth season, and originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 11, 1993. In the episode, Lisa gives Ralph Wiggum a Valentine's Day card when she sees that he has not received any. Ralph reads too much into Lisa's...
", Bart SimpsonBart SimpsonBartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
designs crude insult remarks for conversation hearts, e.g. U Stink.
- The World of WarcraftWorld of WarcraftWorld of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
online game has Heart Candies with eight different romantic sayings during the Love Is In The Air seasonal event. These can be used to flirt by giving them to other player characters.
- In the Arrested Development episode "Marta ComplexMarta Complex"Marta Complex" is the 12th episode aired of TV comedy series Arrested Development.-Plot:Michael Bluth convinces his mother to throw what she thinks is a Valentine's Day party, but is, in fact, an anniversary party for Tobias and Lindsay. In attendance is Gob's girlfriend Marta, who is impressed by...
" when George Michael digs through a bowl of candy hearts looking for the one with the answer he wants.