How Cupid’s Day Rates

Valentine’s Day Candy Best-Sellers at Candy Stores

For many Americans, Valentine’s Day will always be an important romantic occasion — a day to celebrate love with red roses, candy hearts and a box of chocolates.

But chocolatiers and other candy sellers interviewed for this article said that in many communities, Valentine’s Day is taken less seriously than it was perhaps a generation ago. Many retailers report that sales of affectionate gifts for children and grandchildren match or even eclipse the classic romantic gesture. At other stores, like The Sweet Palace in Phillipsbury, Mont., Valentine’s Day “is more of a hiccup,” observed Manager Heidi Beck-Heser.

Beck-Heser manages the 25-year-old store owned by her mother, Shirley Beck. The 2,500-square-foot emporium specializes in house-made chocolates, fudge, toffees, brittles, marshmallows and cream candies. But holidays like Christmas and Easter and, increasingly, Mother’s Day, make a far bigger impact on the store’s bottom line. “Everyone has a mom, but not everyone has a lover,” observed Heidi Beck-Heser .

Still, the store does a brisk Valentine’s week business in nostalgic gifts from grandparents, who, according to Beck-Heser, delight in remembering their grandchildren’s favorite treats year after year. “We’re a small community, so we’ll recognize the grandparents and the address where it’s going,” Beck-Heser noted. “Whether they’re 15 or grown up and now they’re 32, they still like those sour gummies, root beer barrels, red hots and whatnots.” Such sour or spicy kids’ favorites are more popular than classic chocolates at Valentine’s Day, the retailer added.

Valentine’s Day is likewise “not so big” in terms of revenue at The Candy Jar in Bozeman, Mont., according to Manager Sami Labert . “It’s what just what we’ve observed, relative to the other holidays during the year,” she noted.

Continued on page 132