How Crayola Crayons Are Made

The Process explored the history and engineering behind how Crayola Crayons are made by the billions every year, using a combination of old and new technology, and noted how the brand patented its memorable signature crayon scents.

Crayola makes 3 billion crayons a year, but the most powerful thing in the box may be the smell.we reveal how Crayola crayons are made from paraffin wax, pigment, rotary molds, paper labels, and old factory machines still running today.

The narrator also discussed how the brand navigated modern cultural shifts in the United States as the box grew in size.

The box grew. Eight colors became forty-eight, then sixty-four. … Inside the Crayola box was a color  called “Flesh.” Skin color. One skin color – and it was white. In 1962, with the  Civil Rights movement sweeping the country, Crayola changed “Flesh” to “Peach.” Not just a name swap. It was the first time a crayon company acknowledged what the nation was confronting  – that human skin doesn’t come in one shade.