Workers at the Crayola factory may be a little sad on sunny summer days while their friends are away on vacation. At the company’s main factory in Easton, Pennsylvania, they produce a whopping 13 million crayons a day for the start of preschool and adult education.
Production increases by at least 8 percent this time of year, and the company generates half of its sales during the July 4 to Labor Day period primarily through major retailers such as Amazon.com, Target and Walmart, Bloomberg reports.
It’s “our Super Bowl,” CEO Pete Ruggiero told Bloomberg.
The company has a long and eventful history. It began in New York City in 1885 as Binney & Smith and at that time only sold red and black pigments for paints and tires.
In 1903, Hallmark expanded its offerings to include Crayola boxes of black, brown, blue, purple, red, orange, yellow and green crayons, which sold for just five cents per box. Hallmark purchased Binney & Smith and the Crayola brand in 1984 for $204 million.
The manufacturing process has not changed much. Colored pencils are made from pigment powder and paraffin according to a secret recipe.
If the workers can’t get the images of all the swirling colors out of their heads, the factory won’t help them much. The walls are painted in bright Crayola colors.
But when the colors start to irritate, the earthy smell can have a calming effect.
Crayola is such a big fan of the brand that the company applied for and was granted a trademark for the smell of its crayons by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The application documents described the smell as “a slightly earthy soap with a sharp, leathery undertone.”
Ruggiero told Bloomberg he envisions Crayola one day spreading the scent throughout retail stores, sparking a nostalgia that will prompt shoppers to grab crayons.
