Weather 
Love does cost a thing.
Today might be the official day of romance, but the beloved Sweethearts candy isn’t letting people forget how tough the economy is right now.
At the beginning of every year, Sprangler Candy Company releases a fresh batch of tiny edible hearts with new cheeky sayings — and it’s safe to say, this year’s phrases were less flirty than usual.
Acknowledging how wildly expensive everything is right now, this year’s candies seemed to offer financial advice instead of romantic gestures with jarring sayings like “split rent,” “share login,” “car pool,” “family plan,” “buy n bulk,” and “cook for 2,” to name a few.
Times are hard as is; did people really need a reminder from a candy brand? Well, Sprangler Candy thinks so.
“Sweethearts has always evolved with the times by staying aware of current dating trends and relationships — and being practical is having a moment,” said Evan Brock, vice president of marketing for the maker of Sweethearts, in a recent press release.
“That’s why some of the messages on our Sweethearts candies aren’t just about finding love the old-fashioned way this year.”
While the brand had the best intentions with this year’s release, the joke didn’t seem to land well with customers.
One person had to do a double-take when opening a box of the candies, writing in a TikTok video, “Am I tripping like when did sweethearts add “family plan” and “joint taxes?”
People in the comment section agreed, chiming in, “one of mine said “split rent” im sorry? i thought i got sweethearts not divorcehearts.”
“TF they used to say Love & Kiss.”
“Man i just ordered these for my husband’s valentines day gift 😭 he’s gonna think I’m making jokes (he pays all the bills and does the grocery shopping).”
“Damn, no more joy and whimsy.”
In the comment section of another video, questioning the “recession indicator” candy, one person wrote, “…I just got them and looked this up on tik tok because I was shocked.”
“Recession doesn’t correlate to sweethearts,” quipped someone else.
