Great Grains
Cornbread plus curiosity equal Cornelius J. Box, the lively animated character you’ll meet when you visit the Chelsea Milling Company in Chelsea, Michigan, for a Jiffy Mix Factory Tour.
“When we upgraded our factory tours in 2010, we developed an animated character, Cornelius J. Box, for our introductory presentation,” says Howdy Holmes, CEO of Chelsea Milling. “The new 18-minute DVD that shows the field-to-fork story has been wildly accepted.”
The free tours have always been popular, especially for the complimentary goodies, but now visitors enjoy refreshments, made from Jiffy Mix products, of course, in a new, expanded reception area.
The DVD presentation “Corny” (as Mr. Box is known to this friends), explains how grains are processed, including a detailed explanation of milling, blending and packaging, so that during the factory tour, visitors can enjoy the experiences that surround them without tour guide speeches. Since this is a food-processing business, everyone must don hairnets before the factory tour begins — a photo-op not to be missed. Inside the factory, motors hum and conveyor belts clack as boxes and boxes of Jiffy Mix move alongside and overtop the heads of visitors in a whirl of activity.
Jiffy’s Corn Muffin Mix accounts for 90 percent of corn muffin mix sales in the United States, but the company also makes cake, cookie and pizza dough mixes. The gift bags given out at the end of the tour include boxes of Jiffy Mix, a recipe book and a little blue “Jiffy Guy.”
Walk-ins are accommodated on a space-available basis, but it’s best to make reservations for the tours.
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