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Each Valentine’s Day, over 8 billion conversation hearts are sold – which really says a lot about this iconic Love Day treat. These pastel sweethearts stamped with classic sayings like “Be Mine” and “Love U” make up about 40% of the Valentine’s candy market, second only to chocolate. Despite their runner-up status, conversation hearts remain a century-old tradition with a surprisingly chewy backstory.
Conversation hearts were originally made by Necco, founded in Boston in 1847 by Oliver Chase. Chase invented early candy-making machines that cut lozenges and pulverized sugar into uniform shapes – a small revolution in confectionery efficiency. The earliest Sweetheart-style candies did spread sweet sayings, but they were scallop shell-shaped instead of hearts and included paper messages tucked inside, similar to fortune cookies. Romance, it turns out, has always needed a little engineering.
📸: Laura Ockel
In the 1860s, Oliver’s brother Daniel invented a machine that could stamp messages directly onto the candies. This innovation used red vegetable dye and became wildly popular, especially at weddings (they were to dye for, if you will). The candies were initially much larger than today’s bite-sized versions and featured longer, more specific messages – such as “Married in White, you have chosen right” and “Married in Pink, he’ll take to drink.” Proof that these candies didn’t necessarily sugarcoat the truth.
By the early 1900s, after trials with different shapes (shells, baseballs, horseshoes), Necco settled on the classic heart. The candies – and the messages – got shorter, which was good news for anyone hoping to get married in a pink wedding dress. The hearts shifted to the sweeter, more universal messages we know today: “Miss You,” “Soul Mate,” “Love Bug.” Though many phrases have stood the test of time, Necco does experiment with trendy lingo. Over the past few decades, hearts stamped with “Dig Me,” “Hep Cat,” and “Fax Me” have all made brief appearances, only for their popularity to sour.
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One message has endured, though: “Marry Me.” And this particular Sweetheart inspired a real-life sweetheart love story. In 2004, Mike Waltz searched for “Marry Me” hearts to propose to his girlfriend, Chris. After finding only a few per bag, he sent his own message to Necco. The company mailed him back a box filled entirely with tiny “Marry Me” hearts. His wife, Chris, still keeps the unopened box as a keepsake. Mike keeps only one heart: “I do.” Talk about confection perfection.
