CandyStore.com has revealed its updated Valentine's Day candy map for 2024. The map details the top Valentine's Day candy by state.
The site says that "people are going to be shelling out big bucks this Valentine's Day; the National Retail Federation's survey says consumers will be spending a whopping $25.8 billion, slightly down from last year's $25.9 billion, but will be spending more on significant others than ever, a record $14.2 billion."
Key takeaways included:
- Conversation Hearts lose ground to heart-shaped boxes: This year has seen a shift in consumer preferences, with conversation hearts losing ground to heart-shaped boxes of chocolates. They now hover closely at 10.2% and 10.1% of total candy spending, respectively. This evolving trend underscores a dynamic candy market, where traditional favorites like conversation hearts must continuously innovate to captivate the hearts and tastes of consumers.
- Rivalry building between Hershey Kisses and M&M's? Hershey's Kisses picked up one more #1 spot this year and several runners up and third place finishes as well, gaining ground on M&M's. 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 last year, Oregon and Pennsylvania. By whom? None other than Hershey Kisses. This year, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates knocked off M&M's in both Kansas and New Jersey, allowing Hersheys Kisses to take a lead over M&M's for the first time.
- "Cupid Corn" still #1 in Michigan: "Just when we thought they were fading away, 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 number 3 spot in recent years after a long time top V-day candy for the state," says the website.
View the full map here, with the ability to hover by state.
