Depending on your relationship status, Valentine’s Day can seem like a holiday or a hellscape. For couples, there are the cards, the flowers and the special dinner to reflect on romance over. For the single, there are the cards, the flowers and the special dinner to secretly covet while outwardly chiding the yearly return of Cupid to the public’s consciousness.
Roses may be red, and violets are certainly leaning toward blue, but is it even Valentine’s Day if candy isn’t consumed by me and you? (Apologies for how terrible that was). The red and pink Valentine flood wouldn’t be complete without candy. Boxes of chocolates and candy hearts inscribed with the timeless “Be Mine” or the more contemporary and oh so romantic “Text Me” are synonymous with the February holiday.
Working their magic, online bulk candy retailer Candystore.com went through a decade of data to see what the top Valentine’s Day treats in every state are. The holiday celebrating love by way of waistline expansion is big business; it’s expected $1.7 billion will be spent on candy this year.
One of the most surprising finds the website came up with looking through its records: candy hearts are now the top holiday treat. The chalky sweets have eclipsed the ubiquitous heart-shaped box of chocolate as the most popular candy. Chocolate lovers, fear not – over 40 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are going to be sold for Valentine’s Day, so tradition endures.
Source: CandyStore.com
It seems Idaho wants it both ways when it comes to its preferred seasonal sweet treat. The Gem State wants the richness of chocolate but the crunch of sugar; enter M&Ms. Idaho loves the tiny candies that debuted in 1941. While the original spectrum of the little chocolates consists of orange, green, violet, yellow and red, other colors have entered the fray over the years. For the seasonal M&Ms marking Valentine’s Day, colors include red, white, and hues of pink. Idaho’s second favorite candy for a holiday cruise through the tunnel of love? You guessed it, inscribed candy hearts.
As for Idaho’s neighbors, favorites run the gamut. Oregon and Wyoming prefer – chocolate roses? To each their own. Montana has fallen under the sway of candy hearts while in Utah it’s Hershey’s Kisses (that had better be wrapped in seasonally appropriate pink and red foil). As for Nevada and Washington, they’re defenders of the Valentine’s Day establishment; sweethearts in both states still gravitate toward the heart-shaped box of chocolate.
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