New York City's 'oldest chocolate factory' ramps up ahead of Valentine's Day

New York City's 'oldest chocolate factory' ramps up ahead of Valentine's Day.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dripping chocolate covered homemade, heart-shaped marshmallows at Li-Lac Chocolates  9000-square-foot production space in New York City, as the chocolate factory ramped up production in time for Valentine s Day, one of its busiest times of the year.

Just three days before the Valentine Day holiday, employees on Friday were busy decorating chocolate hearts with colored sprinkles, dipping cherries in chocolate, and preparing toffee filling.

They also raced to place chocolates into red and gold boxes for sale online and at the company s six retail locations.

Anwar Khoder, the factory s master chocolatier and production manager, said, "I ve been doing like about 18 hours a day, you know, to keep up with the demand."

From a business perspective, Li-Lac s president and co-owner Anthony Cirone said it s the second biggest holiday for sales. "We do more chocolate sales in Valentine s Day ... than we do any other time of the year outside of Christmas."

In spite of some of the challenges stocking certain raw materials, the chocolate house is optimistic about its sales outlook this holiday.

"We ve had some of those same issues with supply chain shortages and price increases," said Cirone, who added the company is doing its best to navigate around it.

The company built up its online business during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it said store sales are starting to grow again, as tourists and office workers begin to return to Manhattan.

"People love chocolate, you know, and it s a nice little break and a treat for people," Cirone said.

Li-Lac Chocolates has been operating since 1923 and will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year, with everything made by hand using the founders  original recipes from the 1920s.

It makes what it calls "old school chocolate."

The National Retail Federation expects spending on Valentine s Day on Monday to reach $23.9 billion, up from $21.8 billion in 2021.

It says candy - including chocolate - remains the most popular item, followed by greeting cards and flowers.