Valentine's Day Favorite Sweethearts Returns, But Just A Little Less Chatty For 2020

A staple of Valentine’s Day candy, Sweethearts, the soft and chalky heart-shaped confections in pastel colors featuring a variety of romance-themed phrases printed upon them, was out of commission in 2019, as the original manufacturers, NECCO, had gone out of business, was sold, then resold to current owners Spangler, makers of Dum-Dum Lollipops. 

Spangler acquired the rights to make Sweethearts in late September 2018, not giving them enough time to restart production for 2019, promising a return in 2020.

Forlorn fans of the tiny candy love dispatches will find their old love has come back, albeit slightly changed. According to Spangler, Sweethearts will be harder to find, and will mostly be available at national drug store chains like Walgreens and CVS. The old printer responsible for the romantic quips was unreliable, and like the predictable foil of a cliched romantic comedy, the new printer got damaged during production, so this year there will be more blank hearts than consumers are used to, meaning lovers will have to express their feelings for each other in some other way.

The packaging for the Sweethearts comeback is utterly nostalgic, as is the taste, as Spangler found the original recipes during the move, almost like finding that shoebox of mementos from the one that got away. The found recipes also mean that a couple of flavors return, including wintergreen and banana.