How Valentine's Sweethearts Candy Mottos Have Changed Since 1902

Sweethearts candies have been playing Cupid for a long time, but they didn't start off as the tiny, quotable hearts you see today. Like any good pop culture fixture, they've gone through eras. It began in 1847 when Boston pharmacist Oliver Chase invented a lozenge cutter that allowed him to mass produce his already popular Chase Lozenges, made with peppermint, gum Arabic, and brown sugar. As business blossomed, he partnered with his brother Daniel to create the candy-making business Chase & Company. The two discovered a way to print phrases on sweet lozenges and created different shapes with the lozenge cutter, and thus "conversation candies" were born.

The original conversation candies came in different shapes, like wedding bells, coins, horseshoes, baseballs, animals, and (of course) hearts. They were bigger than the Sweethearts candies you see today, with enough surface area for phrases like "Come On, You Kid! There's Two Men Gone –- Don't Freeze on First –- Do a Marathon!". Chase & Co. eventually became the New England Confectionary Company (Necco), and by the late 1940s the hearts were smaller and sporting shorter phrases like "Be Mine."

Almost every year since, Sweetheart candies (now owned by Spangler Candy Co.) has released a new batch of conversation hearts with trending pop culture phrases and little, two-word notes. They remain beloved by the public even through missteps like Sweethearts' unsexy theme of 2022 or the time Sweethearts turned its biggest flaw into a selling point by marketing misprinted hearts as a nod to Gen-Z 's 'situationships.'

Sweethearts is keeping things cheeky and romantic for the 2026 Valentine's Day season. In 2026, Spangler Candy Co. is referencing the practicalities of modern love with its Sweethearts In This Economy release; new messages include "Buy in bulk," "Split rent," and "Cook for 2." Standard flavors will be available like cherry, grape, blueberry, banana, lemon-lime, orange, and wintergreen; and you'll still be able to buy a box for under $2 at most supermarkets.

While Sweethearts candies are the original classics, they aren't the only conversation candies you'll see this year. The original hearts have sparked an entire genre of candies along the same lines (we ranked these Valentine Candy Hearts) which will undoubtedly be on shelves this year. Sweethearts has also partnered with Sanrio for a 2026 Valentine's collab featuring the heart candies and Hello Kitty and Friends on all sorts of products, including a whole line of drinkware and heart-shaped, insulated coolers from Igloo. Keep an eye out for those and other Sweethearts-themed products starting in late January.