Valentine’s Day may feel like a retail holiday, but long before chocolates reach store shelves and bouquets are delivered to doorsteps, manufacturing teams across San Bernardino and Riverside Counties are at work.
From heritage candy makers to commercial printers and packaging producers, the Inland Empire plays a quiet but essential role in the holiday. Here’s how.
Chocolate & Candy: Generations of Sweet Manufacturing
Laymon Candy Company — San Bernardino
Founded in the 1920s, Laymon has been producing toffee, brittle, fudge, and chocolates in San Bernardino for generations. It is one of the region’s long-standing confectionery manufacturers, demonstrating the kind of small-batch craftsmanship that still defines much of the IE’s food production sector.
Logan’s Candies — Ontario
Logan’s has been making candy in Ontario since the 1930s. The company continues to produce chocolates, caramel apples, fudge, and brittle locally, representing a nearly century-old manufacturing presence in downtown Ontario.
Parliament Chocolate — Redlands
In Redlands, Parliament Chocolate roasts and processes cacao on site, producing bean-to-bar chocolate with full control over sourcing and production. It reflects a newer generation of Inland Empire manufacturers focused on craft, quality, and vertical integration.
Flowers & Botanicals: Agriculture Meets Production
Armstrong Growers — Ontario
Armstrong has been rooted in Ontario since the late 19th century. For well over a century, the company has grown flowering plants and nursery stock in the Inland Empire, continuing the region’s deep agricultural and horticultural tradition. Valentine’s flowers and gift-ready plants are part of that legacy.
Sun Valley Floral Farms — Riverside
In Riverside, large-scale flower growing and processing operations help supply cut flowers during one of the busiest seasons of the year.
Rocket Farms — Riverside County
With greenhouse operations in Riverside County, Rocket Farms produces decorative plants and flowering gifts that frequently appear in seasonal displays.
Cards, Printing & Paper Goods
Valentine’s Day is not only about the gift—it is about the message.
RR Donnelley — Ontario
RR Donnelley, a large national printing and communications company, maintains operations in Ontario. As one of the country’s major printers and producers of printed materials, the company represents the scale and sophistication of printing infrastructure connected to holidays, packaging, stationery, and commercial print.
Deluxe — Riverside
Deluxe maintains printing operations in Riverside, contributing to the broader commercial print ecosystem that supports paper goods and printed materials.
Packaging & Presentation
Before a gift reaches a store shelf, it must be boxed, protected, and presented.
Orora Packaging Solutions — Riverside
Orora manufactures and designs packaging solutions in Riverside, supporting the structural and protective components behind gift packaging.
Pacific Packaging Components — Ontario
Ontario-based packaging production contributes to rigid and decorative packaging frequently used for confectionery and specialty products.
Crown Holdings — Rialto
In Rialto, metal packaging manufacturing supports the production of specialty tins and containers often used for premium sweets and keepsake items.
Fragrance & Ingredients
Albert Vieille — Riverside
Essential oil processing and blending in Riverside connects the Inland Empire to fragrance and aromatic supply chains.
California Natural Color — San Bernardino
Food color manufacturing in San Bernardino contributes to the reds and pinks that define seasonal confections and specialty foods.
A Regional Ecosystem at Work
From heritage candy kitchens in San Bernardino and Ontario to century-old horticultural operations in Ontario, from greenhouse production in Riverside County to commercial printing and packaging across the region, Valentine’s Day reflects a network of Inland Empire manufacturers.
The holiday may be celebrated with flowers and chocolates, but behind every bouquet, card, and box is a workforce designing, growing, printing, forming, and packaging products close to home.
Valentine’s Day, quite literally, is made in the Inland Empire.
