Sweethearts candy: History of the classic conversation hearts

'Be Mine': The history of Sweethearts candy

Love 'em or hate 'em, these conversation hearts are a staple on Valentine's Day, and their origin dates back to a pharmacist in the 1800s.

BRYAN, Ohio - Each year, hundreds of millions of heart-shaped sugar candies with printed messages like "Be Mine" and "Kiss Me" are given to sweethearts by their admirers for Valentine’s Day.

The iconic candies, aptly called Sweethearts, have been around for more than a century and are still one of February’s most recognized sweets on store shelves and in middle school Valentine boxes.

FILE - Containers of "Sweethearts" candy wait to be packaged at the New England Confectionery Co. (Necco) in Revere, Massachusetts, U.S., on Oct. 23, 2013. Photographer: Scott Eisen/Bloomberg via Getty Images

These conversation hearts have both lovers and haters, similar to the polarizing candy corn on Halloween or equally divisive Easter Peeps. Their origin dates back to the 1860s.

Here’s a brief history of the Sweethearts candy:

It started with a pharmacist in Boston

Oliver Chase, an English-born pharmacist who immigrated to Boston in the mid-1800s, made apothecary lozenges consisting of a sugar-and-gum dough mixed with medicinal ingredients, according to the Smithsonian Magazine. He also made them without medicine to be eaten as candy.

With the demand high for these lozenges, Chase created and patented a lozenge-cutting machine in 1847.

"Resembling a hand-cranked pasta maker, his invention stamped sheets of sugar dough into circular lozenges. Dozens of identically sized lozenges would come tumbling out all at once," the Smithsonian Magazine said.

His company, Chase & Co., was the forerunner to the family of companies that later became known as New England Confectionery Company (NECCO).

In the 1860s, Oliver Chase’s brother, Daniel, was the first to print sayings on candy hearts, according to the Ohio-based Spangler Candy Company, which later acquired some of NECCO’s famous brands in 2018.

FILE - Spangler Candy Co. signage stands outside the company's production facility in Bryan, Ohio, U.S., on Tuesday, March 3, 2015. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Daniel Chase invented a machine that pressed a felt roller pad moistened with red vegetable coloring against a printing dye, which stamped the sayings on the hearts, the company said.

The printed hearts were originally shared at parties and weddings.

The Sweethearts candy brand is born

In 1902, the Sweethearts candy brand was created, with original sayings that are still popular today, including "Be Mine" and "Kiss Me."

Over the next several decades, Sweethearts continued to grow in popularity. The brand began updating the sayings on the conversation hearts in the 1990s – retiring some while adding others, according to Spangler’s history of the candy.

The first new phrase, "Fax Me," gained a lot of attention from Sweethearts fans, the company said. Sweethearts started receiving tons of suggestions from fans and continued adding new phrases to reflect culture, like "Text Me," "LOL," and "Bestie."

FILE - Packaged "Sweethearts" candy sit on a pallet waiting to be wrapped and shipped at the New England Confectionery Co. (Necco) in Revere, Massachusetts, U.S., on Oct. 23. 2013. Photographer: Scott Eisen/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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In 2009, NECCO debuted a new line of Sweethearts in honor of the movie series "Twilight," which was first released in late 2008. The candies included phrases like "Bite Me," "Bedazzle" and "Live 4 Ever."

Sweethearts was among the famous brands acquired by Spangler Candy Company in 2018 after NECCO filed for bankruptcy. The brand of candy was re-released in 2020.

In 2022, the brand sought to share words of encouragement, adding phrases like "Way 2 Go," "Crush It" and "High Five.’

Keeping up with the tradition, Spangler said this year that it wants to encourage "confused singles" everywhere by releasing a limited-edition "Situationship Box" last month, which quickly sold out. The boxes contain blurry, misprinted candies "that are as hard to read as Gen-Z relationships."

The Sweethearts Situationship Boxes are "filled entirely with sweet, muddled nothings and literal mixed messages," Spangler said. (Credit: Provided)

Spangler Candy Company, headquartered in Bryan, Ohio, is also behind other candies like Dum Dums, Necco Wafers, Bit-O-Honey, Starburst Pops, and Spangler Circus Peanuts.

This story was reported from Cincinnati.