This 75 Year Old Thanksgiving Staple Is Still Less Than $1

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Thanksgiving tables have changed quite a bit since the Great Depression, when an astonishing 24.9% of Americans were unemployed. While the unemployment rate is far from that seen 90 years ago, the price of groceries is at an all-time high, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. In fact, food has experienced some of the harshest impacts of inflation, with prices rising by 3.1% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This has left many households wondering how to save money while hosting holiday meals. But even in the midst of this economic hardship, the cost of one classic corn muffin mix has stayed affordable.

Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix has not changed much in its 75-year history, selling for about 50 cents at Walmart, just 40 cents more than what it sold for after its initial release in 1950. The blue box also looks nearly identical to its original counterpart, and Jiffy's parent company, Chelsea Milling Company, moves 200 million boxes of different mixes each year. The company, based in Southeast Michigan, does not accept private investment and is not focused on booming profits (unlike companies like Panera Bread, whose downfall came from bad money moves). On its website, Chelsea Milling Company says that its drive to give Americans a break during tough economic times is what's made Jiffy the market share leader in prepared muffin mixes. Remaining an affordable staple for three quarters of a century, Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix can be found at many store chains offering the most affordable Thanksgiving turkey deals.

Jiffy is such a household name that it's even referenced in Beyoncé's hit song "Sweet Honey Buckiin." The family-owned nature of the company is a major reason Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix, and the Chelsea Milling Company as a whole, have been consistently successful over decades. The company first began as a flour milling operation in 1901, under the direction of Harmon S. Holmes. Family-owned since its foundation, the company continued to grow, with its flagship invention emerging in 1930 — that's when Mabel White Holmes first came up with a baking mix and branded it "Jiffy." At the time, it was the first commercially sold backing mix. Two decades later, the Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix became available to the public. Today, the Holmes family is still at the wheel.

Since its early roots, the company has stayed, for the most part, as stripped down to the basics as ever. This is part of what has kept the mix so cheap, CEO Howard S. Holmes II told NPR in a 2025 interview, saying: "We've never had a marketing department. We've never had an advertising department. You'll never see a print ad for Jiffy Mix. You've never seen a commercial on TV for Jiffy Mix, and as far as I'm concerned, you won't." Additionally, Holmes says that the company has been able to stay profitable for generations, never laying off an employee. The company also reinvests its profits, streamlining its production process and lowering costs across the board.