Fewer Candy Sweethearts For Sweethearts This Valentine's Day

click to expand

(CBSNEWS) -- "Be Mine." "Say Yes." "Marry Me." Couples may need another way to express their feelings this Valentine's Day after the company behind Sweethearts "conversation hearts" was sold last year and the factory that made the heart-shaped candies was closed.

Now the only Sweethearts left on the market are from before the Massachusetts factory shut down last July, meaning fewer of them will be readily available come Valentine's Day.

Sweethearts surpassed heart-shaped chocolate boxes last year as the most popular confection for the holiday, according to Candystore.com. Longtime owner New England Confectionery Co., or Necco, produced 8 billion of the pastel candies every year.

Necco's Sweethearts are not the only candy conversation hearts on the market, but it is the most recognizable brand, accounting for 80 percent of all such sales, with over 19 million pounds sold each year, Candystore.com reports.