New Conversation Hearts:: NO good

This is a ridiculously frivolous post. I like candy that other people find loathsome. Basically, I like all candies, and while I prefer some to others I'm just addicted to sugar. Candy corn and conversation hearts. Oh man, and those little candy pumpkins too. I like kitsch. Plus, conversation hearts have evolved over the years to say 'fax me', email me, and the most current 'text me'. It can't get much better.

image via charlotte's fancy

The point is, while Garrett and I were in California for the BCS National Championship (more on that later), I bought a box of conversation hearts at a Walgreens and they were fruit flavored. The green was sour apple. It was really, really bad. There was no warning on the box that there were new flavors and it was the necco brand. So, I may have to go find some Brach's this year. I did buy some necco wafers to feed my craving for the traditional flavors, most of which are the same. And the pink tastes exactly like Pepto which is bizarre. And now that they make pepto in a chewable tablet, they are almost identical.

photo by me

Has anyone else noticed the disappointing flavor switch? (oh, and don't worry, I wrote in to complain)

EDIT:: Here is the response to my complaint::

January 21, 2010

Dear Mr./Ms. Cummings,

Thank you for writing to Necco,  I wanted to personally thank you for all of your input on our new Sweethearts.  They are a great US made product and I am glad to hear you are a longtime fan. Over the years, our number one product requests have been around producing a more flavorful and softer product. Sweethearts have been America’s favorite Valentine’s Day candy for over 145 years now and we needed to ensure that Sweethearts continue to delight people of all ages.

It’s never easy to change something that hasn’t been changed for a very long time and we appreciate your support as we continue to come up with new flavors and ways to say I Love You. Here’s more information about all of our exciting changes:

Our new softer Original Flavors now include: Green Apple, Blue Raspberry, Strawberry, Lemon, Grape and Orange. The color of the hearts were changed to match the flavors so people could tell what flavor they were eating before they even tried them. The new expressions on the Sweethearts were chosen by over 10,000 Americans at mysweethearts.com back in the summer. The complete list of the top new sayings includes both contemporary expressions like Tweet® Me and Text Me and beloved classics like “Love Me” and “Sweet Pea.” The packaging was changed to make the product easier to find at shelf. And our little 1oz boxes are now slightly smaller with no window, to be more sustainable and easier to handle for tiny kid hands. The back of our 1oz boxes was also changed so that kids could write in their To/From names in pencil.

If you are looking for something to share with the little girls in your life be sure to check out our new Sweethearts Dazzled Tarts with flavors including: Pink Lemonade, Wild Berry Grape, Sour Apple, Watermelon, Extreme Tangerine and Blue Raspberry. These new Sweethearts are dazzled and have crowns and shoes on them!

So, thank you for your feedback and please stick with us. Let us know what you think of our other Sweetheart products. Also, check our www.mysweethearts.com  for free recipe ideas and craft projects.

These stores still have the old flavors.

Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Family Dollar, 99 Cent Only, Freds , Odd Lots, Wakefern,  Sav A Lot.

Thank you again for writing.

Sincerely,


Theresa Denis
Customer Correspondent

So, apparently, I have to go to the dollar store and stock up.