By Randy Schroeder

At this past ANME Winter Trade Show, I had a chance to meet Frank Manteau, who is the owner of Mil-Treats and the inventor of Crayons Ready to Eat (CRE). As a USMC Veteran, he remembers how people would often joke that Marines are just bunch of block head crayon eaters. Therefore, he embraced the idea and made crayons that you actually CAN eat! 

CREs are packed in similar Genuine Issue, MRE style packaging. Inside are six edible “crayons.” They are made in the USA of high-quality white chocolate that is then colored. The product is high quality and the crayons were tasty. Even better is they actually write! However, I don’t know how much you really want to be smearing chocolate all over your paper! 

Each single pouch contains 6 crayons that come with unique color names; Jarhead Red, Squid Blue, Dawg Face Green, Flyboy Yellow, Puddle Pirate Orange, and Space Cadet White. Personally, Puddle Pirate Orange’s name is my favorite. 

CREs would make an excellent addition to the candy section of any store or a fun little twist next to the old boring MREs already in your store. They are a great year-round novelty item and perfect around the holidays!

One drawback of Crayons Ready to Eat is that they ship from October 1st through April 28th due to weather concerns. Should you leave your CRE order in the mailbox for longer than an hour the product could melt. If this happens, message them on the site and Mil Treats will do all they can to make it right. 

 For more information, visit Mil Treat’s website www.miltreats.com to see their full line of products. This includes CRE, mugs, shirts, decals, beanies, t-shirts and patches. All of these products are available for wholesale. CRE only ships from October 1st through April 28th due to weather concerns. Currently, Crayons Ready to Eat are presently sold out and are taking orders for fall shipments.

For wholesale pricing and dealer inquiries, Frank Manteau at 619-771-7077. You may also email: Frank@crayonsreadytoeat.com. As always, mention ST Magazine, and let him know you saw his product review in this issue.