COUNTY LIFE
Top Valentine Day candy varies across the states
So, which Valentine’s Day candy does your state love the most?
Covid-19 will strike Valentine’s Day hard, according to the National Retail Federation. Spending is projected to be down more than 20% from last years all-time high of $27.8B for general Valentine’s Day celebrations. A twenty percent decrease is a lot. People are struggling and there’s a once in a lifetime worldwide pandemic. It’s understandable.
As a percentage of total spending though, candy is poised to be up 2%. It’s one of the few areas of holiday spending that will increase per capita, along with gift cards and greeting cards. Ya know, things that are nice but not too expensive and don’t require exposing yourself to the threat of catching and spreading the virus.
They say candy is recession proof. It might be pandemic proof too!
So, since we love data and candy is a fun and relevant holiday topic, we put together a fun and snappy looking interactive map. Using sales data from the past 13 years from our online bulk candy store and industry partners, CandyStore.com has compiled sales data to determine the most popular Valentine’s Day candy. Hover over a state and see which Valentine’s Day candy they favor. Some of the results are surprising, but mostly it’s conversation hearts or boxes of chocolate.
Click on the link below to see an interactive map that shows the favorite Valentine candies of each state.
https://map.candystore.com/valentines/2021/map.html
Tough years for Sweethearts
It’s been a rough couple years for Sweathearts conversation hearts candy. After Necco got ripped apart and its brands sent off to various bidders, Sweathearts’ new owner took more time than anticipated to get their feet under them. In fact, they weren’t available in 2019 at all. As the most popular brand of conversation hearts (Brach’s makes them as well), the sales of conversation hearts overall were down over 24%.
Then last year in 2020, they were back but only a limited supply was available. As new owner Spangler hurried to get them out, they ran into some printing issues and the cute little sayings witten on them were distorted and blurred. Quite a few of them were blank – no words at all.
Still, conversation hearts did make a comeback last year from 2019’s low. They climbed back to 9.5% market share from 8% in 2019. Although they didn’t manage to unseat the new top candy, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, they weren’t exactly playing with a full squad, were they?
With Spangler introducing all new sayings on Sweethearts this year, look for conversation hearts to make a heroic comeback in 2021. That’s something we can all root for in 2021.
M&M’s keeps moving up
With conversation hearts down, M&M’s picked up some of the slack last year. They made gains in several states throughout the country, landing new #1 spots in Oregon and North Dakota.
Since introducing the Cupid’s Message M&M’s in 2017, we’ve seen a rise in M&M’s sales for Valentine’s Day. Cupid’s Mix of Valentine’s Day colored M&M’s has also been very popular. The re-introduction of White Cheesecake M&M’s helped boost them as well.
Valentine’s Day Candy Quick 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. Wow!
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 percent of all Valentine’s Day candy and gifts.
So, which Valentine’s Day candy does your state love the most?
Source: CandyStore.com.
It’s time to start working on your entry for the 2025 Jim Bowie Days Parade.
The theme is “God Bless Texas.” The entry deadline is 5 p.m. on June 25. Entry forms are available at jimbowiedays.com.
There are four categories for the parade: Youth organization or sports team, civic organization or church, riding club and business.
Kids are encouraged to decorate their bicycles and ride in the parade, and those with antique cars, trucks or tractors should give them a shine. For cowgirls and cowboys bring your horses to town and ride them on the route.
Prizes will be awarded for outstanding entries.
Coming in the June 19 Bowie News see the full calendar of events program for Jim Bowie Days and plan all your family’s activities during this western week of fun.
The Music in the Park Festival organizers welcome guests to enjoy a day under the beautiful oaks of Pelham Park to hear an array of music on June 14 in Bowie.
This free music festival is hosted by the Bowie Community center and R&K Sound Company.
Guests are invited to bring their lawn chairs and set up under the oak trees that fill the park near the amphitheater. This is the second year for this free festival as it expands to a full day.
Live acoustic music opens the free festival starting at 11:30 a.m. with Corben Wolsey, Blake Mangus, Tiffany Chandler, Sara White and Dillon Edwards. Other live music that day will include Bad Daddy Band and Bricktown Band. ZZ Texas, a ZZ Top tribute band, will take the stage at 8 p.m. Live music continues until 10 p.m.
There will be food truck vendors, bounce houses (fee), axe throwing and vendors. Guests are allowed to bring beer in a cooler, but no soda pop or similar drinks. There will be a $5 cooler fee.
Prior to the musical events there will be a 5K run/walk at 8:30 a.m. at the Pelham Park Pavilion. Pre-race warm-up begins at 8:10 a.m. and the race starts at 8:30 a.m. There will be first-third place winners in each age category.
Entry fee is $35 and participants receive a T-shirt. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Clear Choice Pregnancy Resource Center.
Those with questions may call Bonnie at 940-872-4861 or Kenny at 817-704-9847. In case of rain the event will be moved into the center.
Nocona Public Library is celebrating summer with lots of activities for kids.
On June 6 the Friends of the Library hosted a Rhyme Time story time. Marcia Williams read “Nothing Rhymes with Orange” by Adam Rex to the children. Lory Hunt helped the kids burn off some energy with a hopping rhyming activity.
Friends of the Library will be hosting its annual summer reading program in July. Check the Library Facebook page for details. Children can pick up reading logs at the library and start reading now.
The Library Advisory Board is having a new program this summer for children in grades 1-5. The Great Summer Adventure is at noon on Mondays in June and July.
Each adventure day begins with a story read by Lory Hunt and is always followed by a surprise. On June 9 the kids were surprised with Taylor Watson’s Petting Zoo. A blind cow named Helen, Pearl the white pony and a white goat named Bell all visited the library. The children had lots of fun petting the animals. Parents can sign children up for this program at the library.
Nocona Public Library is open Monday thru Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(top photo) The Taylor Watson Petting Zoo was a big hit at last week’s summer reading program at Nocona Public Library. (Courtesy photo)
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