Recently, we here at MAD went on a mini family vacation. Our son (6) enjoys watching shows like “How it’s made” so our vacation included a stop at the Jiffy Factory in Chelsea, Michigan for a FREE tour. You know Jiffy, the little blue box, savior of bad bakers and hero to those last minute requests. After all, I was told Jiffy was invented by Mabel White Holmes, grandmother of the current President, Howdy S. Holmes, because of a male neighbor who made rock hard biscuits.
We arrived a few minutes before the school group we were joining up with so we had a chance to chat with the tour guide Kate, who was so friendly and full of information. Now I just want to let you know, if you do plan on visiting for a tour (which you should) children must be in first grade to go through the factory. Since our newest Fun Tester is not even 5 months yet, he and daddy had to wait when we went into the factory. But I was told not only were they well taken care of, but got to meet the President and CEO of the company! Lucky guys!
Our tour started in a comfy theater where we were provided a yummy (we got raspberry) muffin and a bottle water to enjoy during a brief movie about the history of the company and parts of the manufacturing process we would not be seeing in the factory. You can watch this virtual tour on the Jiffy website. I was impressed how not only our son, but all the kids were enjoying the film. I mean seriously, they took a bus load of children at the end of a school year, on a beautiful day, and asked them to sit for 15 minutes and learn. And they all LOVED it!
After the film we got to go out into the factory and see the magic. It is amazing that during peek production such a modest factory can put out 1.5 million boxes of mix a day! Our Fun Tester loved watching the boxes move along from station to station, going up conveyor belts and over head. At the end of the tour he just had to have a photo of the Jiffy big truck, hair net and all.
We each received a goody bag at the end of the tour too. I was so excited to get some of that yummy raspberry muffin mix (Adult goody bags come with two boxes of mix) as our store doesn’t carry that item. I was also excited to find out I could buy it from the Jiffy online store! The Fun Tester was excited he got to keep the hair net!
While at Jiffy we also picked up a souvenir t-shirt (only $8) for the oldest Fun Tester that said "If you don't know Jiffy, you don't know muffin." I don't know why but it cracks me up every time I read it when he walks by wearing it. On our way to the car our Fun Tester informed me it had been the best day of his life. When I asked him why, he said because he got to visit Jiffy!
If you live in Michigan or are planning on a visit, I HIGHLY recommend a stop at Jiffy. The packaging and product are all made in the U.S.A. One woman I spoke to had been a guide there for 35 years and her mother was a guide for 20! Employees don't work that long somewhere unless the company is doing something right.
So go have some laughs, learn a little and have lots of fun at the Jiffy Factory tour!
This awsome adventure is now ABC and 123
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