Valentine chocolate is considered today almost a prerequisite for celebrating love’s favorite holiday. Rich, handcrafted Valentine chocolate is highly prized by both suitor and recipient because it delivers an exceptional taste experience. But before there was Valentine chocolate there had to be a Valentine’s day and for that genius we turn the clock back to the 1800’s and a woman named, Esther Howland.
The first mass produced Valentines in America were made by Esther Howland in the 1840’s. Known as the “Mother of the Valentine,” Esther Howland created elegant creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as “scrap.” She was born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1828 and graduated from Mount Holyoke College in 1847.
Shortly thereafter she received a Valentine greeting from England and was fascinated by the beautiful, handcrafted greeting. She suspected there was a market for this product in America and began importing the special lace paper and floral components to create her own designs. Many of her techniques, including the use of bright colored paper behind the lace to showcase its beauty are staples of the card industry today. Howland’s creativity drew widespread attention and soon she had orders for more Valentine cards than she could create herself at home.
On February 5,1850, The Daily Spy, her hometown newspaper, ran Howland’s first advertisement for workers and a business was born. Using an assembly line technique, Howland’s company grew to do an impressive $100,000 annually – the equivalent of about $3 million in today’s dollars – and flourished under her leadership until 1881 when she sold the business to The George Whitney Company.
Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year.
Valentine’s is also the second biggest holiday for Chocolate Pizza Company behind only the Christmas season. And, interestingly enough, the company’s single biggest sales day of the year in its Marcellus, NY store – even bigger than any single day in December – is February 13th. On that day the Chocolate Pizza Company store is packed from opening until closing with a lot of those last minute shoppers being men who need that last minute gift to make them a hero with their special someone. Valentine chocolate is simply a must-have.
The good news is we have you covered! But why wait until the last moment. The smart ones get their Valentine chocolate shopping done early. They pick out exactly what they want and avoid the panic of waiting until the 11th hour. Online shoppers have it easy – just choose what you want, checkout, select “ship for Valentine’s” and leave the rest to us.
New this Valentine’s Day is our Candy Avalanche Valentine Chocolate Pizza. The Candy Avalanche series is extremely popular being the “supreme” pizza in our lineup and this one has all the red, pink and white colors of Valentines.
Of course, if you want to share something very special with your Valentine, you can choose our customized heart-shaped Valentine Chocolate Pizza. Whether it’s “To My Sweet Babboo” or “For the Love of My Life” or any other beautiful sentiment, we’ll customize a delicious heart-shaped Chocolate Pizza just for your sweetheart.
Also new this year is the, “All My Love,” Gift Basket. This is the show-stopper of show-stoppers, our biggest, sweetest and most impressive gourmet chocolate gift basket for Valentine’s Day. Jokingly, we call it the “hero-maker” because that’s what it does – you’ll be a hero when this basket arrives!
It’s the sweetest holiday of the year so make sure you celebrate with the best tasting gourmet chocolate you can find. But don’t wait … February 14th will be here before you blink so order today!
