It started as an insult. While the everyday American admires and respects troops defending our nation, name-calling, general insults, and other crass forms of behavior are commonplace within the military itself. Then it was a joke. You know, self-deprecation? Now, edible crayons are real and both preschoolers and Devil Dogs could not be more excited. The brainchild of a USMC Vet, you can put up the Crayolas and finally have a drawing instrument that doesn’t taste like trash. Do Marines eat crayons? They do now.
What Are Edible Crayons Made Of?
In case you missed it, edible crayons are real and are crafted from high-quality Belgian white chocolate. Unlike Crayola crayons, which use less appealing ingredients—paraffin wax and color pigment. Here’s a breakdown of the ingredients:
- Sugar
- Cocoa Butter
- Whole Milk Powder
- Soy Lecithin
- Natural Vanilla Flavoring
- Ultra Refined Cocoa Butter
- Certified Organic
- White Deodorized (Kosher)
- Lakes (Kosher) and Dyes (Kosher) of FD&C Blue #1, Blue #2, Yellow #5, Yellow #6, Red #40, and Titanium Dioxide
While Crayola is undefeated in the art department, Marines and crayons have a much more complex relationship.
Where you see a tool suitable for art that deserves a spot on the fridge, assuming you got a sticker for it, the average Marine understands the importance of calories.
Being a Marine takes a lot out of you mentally and physically. There’s no shame in having a mindless snack when serving your country.
At least, that’s how the stereotype goes and not one to let sleeping dogs lie, a Marine was inspired one fateful day to bring edible crayons to life. Now, we’re all benefiting from it.
Crayons Ready-to-Eat (CRE) are Born
Creating edible crayons for Marines wasn’t always the goal of Sgt. Frank Manteau, who joined the USMC in 1995.
The timeline here is important. At the time, the idea of edible crayons and Marines wasn’t a thing.
However, once he learned of the joke, Sgt. Manteau began really thinking about it—are there any edible crayons?
His journey would earn him the title of “The Crayon Eater King” after the Veteran’s civil career took a turn.
In 2002, after seven and a half years serving in the Marine Corps, Manteau decided to separate from the service and move across the U.S. to San Diego. Five years later, he began a woodworking business, Kamikaze Woodwerks.
Manteau’s daughter was on the color guard team at her high school when he was tasked with helping her with a project.
He began designing the project with crayons. In the midst of everything, he put one in his mouth when he needed a different color.
Bravely resisting all impulses to have a snack, at this time, with the Marines eating crayons joke more well known, he began to wonder if there were any that were edible.
The good news is that there was a company out of Singapore making edible crayons out of chocolate. However, the better news is that they took out the chocolate and sugar because they didn’t want kids to eat them.
This was great because where that company saw social responsibility, Manteau rightfully so saw an opportunity.
Skeptical at first, he enlisted his friend, Cassandra Gordon, to create a melt-resistant formula that fit the look but also tasted great.
Amaury Guichon may be a master chocolatier, but respectfully, we have to give it to Manteau and Gordon on this one.
After mentioning the edible crayons to Raymond Lott aka The Marine Rapper, Crayons Ready-to-Eat made its debut at the 2018 Bunker Labs Veterans in Residence event in San Diego.
Through his woodworking business, he was commissioned to make a few custom works for Raymond Lott, moreover known as The Marine Rapper. During their meetings, he brought up Crayons Ready-to-Eat to Lott, who welcomed him to serve the colored pencils at the event.
Unsurprisingly, a group of Marines found the idea of edible crayons to be a good one. And, they were a hit.
After promoting the product and crowdfunding to make them a reality, you can now find Crayons Ready-to-Eat available to eat featuring the following colors:
- Jarhead Red
- Squid Blue
- Dawg Face Green
- Flyboy Yellow
- Puddle Pirate Orange
- Space Cadet White
Where Can I Buy Edible Crayons?
Maybe you’re looking for a new snack, living out a childhood dream, or simply, and most likely, serving as a Leatherneck. Whatever your reason, MilTreats offers Crayons Ready-to-Eat, that will fulfill your primal needs.
Edible crayons are now readily available trading in the wax for delicious Belgian White Chocolate. However, if you’re ordering, be sure to time it right. Crayons Ready-to-Eat only ship between October 1st and April 28th each year.
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