Conversation hearts, Necco hearts, candy hearts, Sweethearts ― people use many different names to describe those tiny chunks of candy sporting short messages that are ubiquitous around Valentine’s Day.
In 1847, a Boston pharmacist named Oliver Chase invented a machine that made it easier to produce lozenges, a popular product made from mixing medicine with sugar paste. Chase soon began to use his machine to make candy instead of medicinal lozenges, and the company he founded for his new line of work would eventually become Necco. In 1866, Oliver Chase’s brother, Daniel, figured out how to press words onto the candies with a felt roller pad and red vegetable coloring. The result was “conversation candies” or “motto lozenges.” It’s unclear exactly where the idea came from – legends have the Chase brothers drawing inspiration from everything from Valentine’s Day cards to cockles, shell-shaped candies with mottos printed on rolled-up papers.
Originally, the phrases the Chase brothers printed were quite long, with early candies carrying messages such as, “HOW LONG SHALL I HAVE TO WAIT? PLEASE BE CONSIDERATE.” Eventually, they were shortened to the types of phrases we are familiar with today, such as “BE MINE” and “KISS ME.” Interestingly, the candies weren’t heart-shaped until 1902, when the company moved from producing simple discs to fun shapes like hearts, baseballs, horseshoes, and watches. The heart shape really stuck! Today, candy hearts are popular around Valentine’s Day and Necco is currently the largest producer of conversation hearts, creating about 8 billion candy hearts each year.
Daniel’s “conversation candies” or “motto lozenges” were not heart-shaped until 1902. Around that time, the candy, previously sold as simple discs, also started appearing in fun shapes like baseballs, horseshoes and watches.
For Necco’s 150th anniversary in 1997, the candy maker brought back a message from the early 20th century: “THE ONE I LOVE.” Today, the company offers Spanish-language Sweethearts with phrases like “TE AMO.”
The popular Valentine’s Day candy, Sweethearts, are back and in high quantity for 2021. Sweethearts (also known as conversation hearts) were discontinued in 2018 when the company that made them, NECCO, closed their doors for good.
Conversation hearts are back and better than ever….Will You Be Mine?
Media Release/Back Then History
