So, I don't know much about this, but from what the internet has told me the US has a strong tendency to use fructose to impart sweetness, rather than sucrose. Is that also the case in mass-produced candy?

Home-made treats are almost always so much better than mass-produced. Of course artisanal treats are even better, but as you say, that's a different thing altogether. I'm impressed with the assorted chocolates. Did you go through the bother of tempering the chocolate? That has always seemed an insurmountable effort to me.