Candystore.com creates map highlighting favorite Valentine's Day candy by state

57% of consumers expected to purchase candy this year for Valentine's Day.

courtesy of: CandyStore.com

CandyStore.com has updated its Valentine's Day candy map for 2023. The map details the top Valentine's Day candy by state.

The National Retail Federation's survey says consumers will be spending $25.9 billion this year on Valentine's Day treats, which is even more than last year's $23.9 billion. This would be a record-breaking year except $27.4 billion was spent in February 2020.

The number of people buying candy for Valentine's Day is expected to be at a new record high, with 57% of consumers participating.

Key takeaways include:

Conversation Hearts Dominate Over Heart-Shaped Boxes: The sales of conversation hearts overall were down over 24%. In 2020, Sweethearts' conversation hearts returned (they weren't available in 2019 at all), but only a limited supply was available. In 2022, they broke through again, reclaiming dominance, with Spangler introducing all new sayings on Sweethearts.
Hershey Kisses Moving In On M&M's Gains? Hershey's Kisses are quickly making its way up the list of the most popular Valentine's Day candy. Hershey's Kisses picked up two #1 spots this year and several runners up and third place finishes as well. M&M's, which had been making steady progress up the chart for the last few years, got knocked off the top spot in two states, Oregon, and Pennsylvania, by none other than Hershey Kisses.
Cupid Corn Back To #1 In Michigan: Cupid corn made a comeback last year. After claiming a new #1 state in Nebraska, candy corn also regained the #1 spot in Michigan, where it had fallen as far as the nimbler 3 spot in recent years after a long time top V-day candy for the state.

Some quick Valentine's Day facts:

47% of people said they will buy themselves a box of chocolates this year.
58 million pounds of chocolate are bought during Valentine's Day week.
The peak selling period for conversation hearts is only 6 weeks long.
- It takes manufacturers 11 months to produce enough for those 6 weeks.
Vodka infused with candy remained popular with conversation hearts last year.
Children receive 39% of all Valentine’s Day candy and gifts.
In Japan, chocolate is given to men, not women, on Valentine’s Day.
In Wales, wooden love spoons were traditionally given as a token of love.
The first Valentine’s Day candy box was created by Richard Cadbury in the late 1800s.
The most popular Valentine’s Day color is red.
The average American spends $144.56 on Valentine’s Day candy.
Each year, an estimated 1 billion cards are exchanged on Valentine's Day.
The oldest box of Valentine's Day candy dates back to the early 1900s.
In the Middle Ages, valentines were handmade gifts like love poems or artwork.
About 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are sold each year leading up to Valentine's Day.