A Michigan company whose top-selling product was born out of the Great Depression has been a staple on kitchen tables ever since.
When you think of the most recognizable American food brands, Jiffy Mix is right up there. It's sold around the world, and it's made in a mill about 15 miles west of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Since the pandemic, the plant no longer offers public tours, but it granted the Scripps News Group access for a behind-the-scenes look at how Chelsea Milling Company has helped feed America.
A stone's throw from the Clocktower in the heart of downtown Chelsea stands the landmark Jiffy storage silos, together holding about a million bushels of wheat.
The iconic "little blue box" of Jiffy Muffin Mix is pictured prominently nearby, all part of the expansive headquarters of Chelsea Milling Company, home of Jiffy Retail and Foodservice Mixes.
“We built this warehouse in 2022," said President and CEO Howard S. Holmes II.
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Holmes walked through the mill, a fifth-generation, family-owned business, where he started working in the summers as a high school student.
"It was a great way to learn the business inside and out," Holmes said.
His great-great grandfather — Harmon S. Holmes — got into the flour milling business in Chelsea in 1901, back when Main Street was still a dirt road and the horse-and-buggy was the main mode of transportation.
Future generations of Holmes family members have carried on the legacy, including Howard's Dad — former Indy Car driver Howdy Holmes, who spent 20 years in motorsports before returning to the company. Each leader helped move the business forward.
“Your great-grandmother, Mabel White-Holmes, came up with the Jiffy recipe. How did this happen?” we asked Howard.
"Yeah, so at the time it was it was all scratch baking," he replied.
“She had a few of her son's friends over and peered into one of their lunches that one of the boys brought over and saw what she is said to have described as a 'white hockey puck of a biscuit,'" Howard continued. "And that was the lightbulb moment. She said, ‘Look, we run this flour mill. What if we made a product that was so easy, anybody could do it?’ And, so, that was the birth of Jiffy Mix.”
It was the first prepared baking mix sold to the public; all you needed to do was add milk. It was launched in April of 1930, in the midst of The Great Depression.
Mabel would go on to become President of the company, and help the Jiffy brand become a household name. Howard showed some of the special machinery that was added in the 1940s to ramp up production.
“It’s surreal seeing something I saw in my Mom’s pantry my whole life just coming down the conveyor belt like this," we told Howard.
“Yeah, and it’s been doing that for almost 100 years," he replied.
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The Jiffy Mix brand really took off after the Corn Muffin Mix launched in 1950, taking the company from a regional to a national manufacturer. And this was accomplished with no traditional TV or print advertising; just word of mouth.
It was a five-year process to add all high-speed, automated, vertical form, fill and seal packaging equipment for their retail business.
“Where does the quintessential JIFFY Muffin Corn Mix fit in terms of your overall sales?” we asked Howard.
"As number one," he replied. "By a mile."
Howard explained that Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix is the no. 1 dry grocer item in the country, one of 14 Jiffy Mix products.
“If you were to come here in November, this whole warehouse will turnover in about a week," Howard said. "It's a lot of product."
In 2004, Chelsea Milling Company got into the foodservice business, selling in bulk under the CMC trademark around the world.
“Airlines, cruise ships, restaurants, bars, the Navy is one of our customers," Howard said. "Something we're very proud of, of course."
Food service now accounts for roughly half their business, necessitating a new warehouse built in 2022.
And, of course, we couldn't finish the tour without a taste test with the research & development department.
“So these are our Hot Honey Pizza Muffins made out of our newest mix – Hot Honey Corn Muffins," Maggie Piker, the Culinary Manager of the R&D Department, told me.
The new flavor has a sweet and spicy kick, showcased well in their test recipe. But Holmes said you can't create these incredible products without a tremendous team. Jiffy employs 362 people, and some have worked there for more than 40 years!
They are staffed with proud members of the community, giving back to good causes and helping feed America — in a Jiffy.
You can get that Hot Honey Pizza Muffins recipe, made with their new Hot Honey Corn Muffin Mix, on Jiffy's website at this link.
This story was originally published by Alicia Smith with the Scripps News Group in Detroit.
