Local Bath Bomb Makers Ramp Up Production and Inventory for Valentine’s Day

Local bath bomb makers and gift shops report heavier orders and expanded inventory as Valentine’s Day approached, with Forget Me Not Flowers and More adding soaps and bath bombs alongside fresh florals. Val Denomme of Forget Me Not told 106.9 The X, “it’s really building up towards Valentines Day, orders are coming in and people are stopping by and it makes everything busier.”

The shop is pushing freshness and staff hours to meet demand. “What we do with our flowers to keep them fresher is we get them very very close to Valentines Day and process them so they’re ready to go so we don’t have any flowers from the previous week. It makes us just a little bit busier and it means that we put in longer hours but it’ all for the customers,” the shop said in the local report, and the in-store selection this year explicitly includes soaps and bath bombs in addition to flowers.

Confectioners in the region likewise increased purchasing and production. Sweeden Sweets at 601 Tower Ave. is buying nearly 32 pounds of strawberries this year for chocolate-covered strawberries, and co-owner Dan Klarner explained their Valentine’s workflow to WDIO: “For those who are in a hurry, they like to, we do only during Valentine’s Day, we make a box of candy that has a mixture in there of our most common candies that people want.” He added, “We dip as much as we can every night. So, we come and dip in the morning, work all day, and then at night when we close down, we would temper the chocolate and get it ready for the next day.”

Gift shops in Duluth are assembling ready-to-go options that complement bath and body items. Hucklebeary at 218 E Superior St. team lead Klara Devries told WDIO, “Winter months are always tricky for retail. People are winding down after the holidays, and so we’ve seen a lot of people in this past week starting to buy their cards, lots of classroom gifts, but we will definitely see a lot more next week.” Hucklebeary described its offerings to WDIO: “Our balloon artist is making various balloons that are grab and go options. We also have candy cups, so they have like candy and different trinkets in it for kids or whoever and a balloon topper. We also will have chocolates that are made locally in Minnesota. We will also have some local flowers that you can pick up here.”

Across markets, chocolatiers and florists reported large-scale ramps. Sandy Tran, head chocolatier at Los Angeles-based andSons, said, “We’ll do about 20,000 pieces [of bonbons] a week.” A florist quoted in Spectrum’s Los Angeles piece said, “On a given day, we might do 75 deliveries. On Valentine’s Day this year, we’ll probably do 500 deliveries.” National estimates underscore the holiday’s economic weight: Capital One puts Valentine’s spending at $27.7 billion this year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports “over 57% of Valentine’s Day spending is on chocolate,” and the Society of American Florists says “more than 250 million roses alone are prepared just for the holiday.”

Marketing and operations advice for makers comes from trade outlets. Drip recommends gift guides, popups that call out delivery dates and last order cutoffs, and using early-access incentives to grow email lists. Hallmark Business suggests customer outreach messages that promote self-care, and employee engagement ideas like festive activities to lift morale.

The local business snapshot was gathered in the run-up to Feb. 14 and referenced a Feb. 11, 2026 local report. For accessibility questions related to the WDIO coverage, the station notes any person with disabilities who needs help accessing the content of the FCC Public file should contact Vicki Kaping at vkaping@wdio.com or (218) 727-6864.