Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
NORWOOD, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Days before Valentine's Day, Furlong's Candies is preparing to sell thousands of pounds worth of chocolate in their busiest season of the year.
Furlong's Candies has been a fixture of chocolate making in Norwood for over 90 years, and Managing Owner Nancy Thrasher's family has owned the shop since the 1980s.
“We will go through thousands of pounds of chocolate" in the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, said Nancy. She added that “the two busiest days of the year are Feb. 13 and 14.”
Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
And Furlong’s Candies is not alone in those sales numbers. During the week around Valentine’s Day, Americans buy 58 million pounds of chocolate and candy. Overall, total consumer spending during that time of year increased by over 8% in 2023.
Every year, the Valentine’s Day season averages around $4 billion in confectionary sales, according to the National Confectioners Association.
Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
Furlong's Candies has been preparing all week leading up to Valentine's Day, and Nancy said that, like every day, they are open until 9 p.m. for those who might have procrastinated or forgot their Valentine's shopping.
In that vein, Nancy shared a Valentine's Day story that has been passed down at Furlong’s Candies for a decade. She explained that the tale unfolds with a man who forgot to get his partner a gift for the holiday. “I believe he had been out drinking with some buddies after work and somebody mentioned Valentine’s Day, and he went, ‘Oh no, it’s Valentine’s Day!’” He then bought a three-pound chocolate heart at 8 p.m., and became a famous figure in the Valentine's lore of Furlong’s Candies.
Nancy said this story reflects a truth she sees every year. “There are a lot of guys,” she said, who wait until the last moment to buy Valentine’s gifts. “That’s why I said that until 8 o’clock on Valentine’s night, we’re still busy.”
Furlong's Candies' most popular chocolates are the chocolate strawberries, explained Nancy, but they might be in shorter supply this year because of a grower problem.
WBZ's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports.
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