According to one article I read NECCO made 100,000 lbs of candy hearts per day and it takes 11 months to make enough to sell in 6 weeks. That’s remarkable.
Yep. They were about as loved as those orange and black wrapped Halloween candies—some type of Mary Janes variant. We all hated those, too, and this was before hating popular things was cool. 
But, seriously, I don’t remember any kids liking either candy except if it was the last option in a bag.
I LOL’ed!
I was personally more amused at the earlier scene in the factory when they showed them being made from bone meal and earwig honey.
You can make your own, with your own personalized messages –
Either virtually:
https://cryptogram.com/hearts/
http://www.acme.com/heartmaker/
Or custom-order real candy versions:
I loved both. Most of the kids I knew loved both. Your observations are incorrect. 
“This concept of ‘wuv’ CONFUSES AND ENRAGES me!”
I’m sorry your childhood was bereft of good candy. I bet you liked candy corn and circus peanuts, too! 
Maybe even Good & Plenties–though those I can appreciate now as an adult. (Seriously, though, those Halloween candies went straight into the garbage. They were as hated as the people who gave us pennies for trick-or-treating. Those were the bottom-of-the-barrel cheapest candies you could by at the local store. I don’t even remember there being any name on them. It was only on this board that I found out they might be called Mary Janes. But they came in a more spherical shape, and just had plain orange and black wrappers. You couldn’t even chew on those things they were so dense!)
Wait a sec. Those black-and-orange Halloween candies we also made by Necco!? That explains so much. One of the Amazon reviews there sums it up nicely on how they were viewed in my neighborhood:
Bordering on of-topic, but where else will I ever get to say this: the sale of necco really bummed me out because they’d just launched a new product: peppermint Sweethearts that came in a tin. They were basically heart-shaped Altoids, but a little milder. I really liked 'em because they weren’t too overpowering and the tin was a little slimmer and more pocket-friendly.
I only managed to go through a couple tins before Necco went under and they disappeared. Doubly sad because Googling suggests they had planned on other flavors.
I liked candy hearts well into early adulthood.
There were several brands. Some inexpensive that tasted terrible. I think Necco had the best? Or maybe Brach? I can’t remember it’s been so long.
I didn’t realize no one made them anymore except Necco.
I guess they’ll sell a lot next year with a “they’re back” promotion.
They’d be wise to make sure the new product tastes good. I’m not sure why but taste used to vary from year to year. I got disappointed a few times and quit buying them.
The other issue was stale stock. Fresh candy hearts are easy to bite and chew. They’re like the yellow mints restaurants used to offer.
Stale candy hearts will break a tooth. You have to dissolve them in your mouth.
Most articles I’ve read indicate that Brach’s will still be in stores.
Those things are about 10% peanut butter, 40% paraffin wax, and 50% industrial glue. I always hated those too.
A quick search on Amazon shows a bunch of them made by Brachs, Sweethearts and … Necco.
In electronics we would call the latter NOS: New old stock. Something that’s been sitting on the shelf unused. Okay for a vacuum tube. Not so much for food.