There will be no Sweethearts for your sweethearts this Valentine’s Day.
The company behind the tiny conversation candies — which come adorned with sayings such as “Be Mine” and “Cutie Pie” — went out of business in 2018 and its new manufacturer didn’t have enough time to churn them out after purchasing the brand in September.
“Necco is dead, and so are Sweethearts for now,” Candystore.com reported.
According to the website, the sugary morsels were the most popular Valentine’s Day candy last year — beating out chocolate heart boxes for the first time ever.
After Necco went under in July, the Sweethearts brand was purchased by Round Hill Investments and then sold off to the Ohio-based Spangler Candy Co. Factory workers there couldn’t keep up with the demand, and Spangler had to put the kibosh on this year’s Valentine’s orders.
“There are a lot of manufacturing challenges and unanswered questions at this point,” Spangler Chairman and CEO Kirk Vashaw said last September after acquiring Necco.
“We want to make sure these brands meet consumer expectations when they re-enter the market,” he added.
Social media users weren’t taking too kindly to the news on Wednesday.
“The world is really coming to an end,” wrote one person on Twitter.
“You know it’s the darker timeline when Candy Corn outlives Sweethearts,” another person said.
According to Candystore, Necco produced roughly 100,000 pounds of Sweethearts daily — and about 8 billion each year. The “full supply” of orders is reportedly sold within a six-week period leading up to Valentine’s Day.
“It took Necco 11 months to produce that many Sweethearts,” Candystore reported.
The website expects Sweethearts sales to drop by more than 80 percent as a result of the temporary shutdown. Spangler, however, plans to have the treats back in stores by next year.
“We are particularly excited about the Sweethearts brand,” he said.
“Many people have memories of sorting through their box of Sweethearts to find just the right message to share.”