M&M's

History

1940–70s: Beginnings

In the 1930s, Forrest Mars Sr., son of the Mars Company founder, Franklin Clarence Mars, saw soldiers in the Spanish Civil War eating Smarties, a British candy then made by Rowntree's. The candy has a chocolate interior protected by a colored shell of hard panning (hardened sugar syrup), preventing the chocolate confection from melting.

On March 3, 1941 in the United States, Mars received a patent for his own process. When his confection company was founded it was entitled, M&M Limited. The two Ms represent the last names of Forrest E. Mars Sr. and Bruce Murrie, the son of the Hershey Chocolate Company president, William F. R. Murrie, who had a 20 percent share in the product. The arrangement allowed the candies to be made with Hershey chocolate, as at the time, Hershey had control of the rationed chocolate in USA. Production of the confection began in 1941 in a factory located at 285 Badger Avenue in Clinton Hill, Newark, New Jersey.

Nestlé archives note that George Harris of Rowntree did not attempt to sue Mars for stealing the concept for Smarties and that after much negotiation, Harris and Forrest Mars Sr. agreed to share the marketplace rather than to compete, with Rowntree making Mars Bars in Canada, Ireland, and South Africa and with Mars making the sugar-coated confection in the United States without competition from Smarties.

The company's first big customer was the U.S. Army, which saw the invention as a way to allow soldiers to carry chocolate in tropical climates without it melting. During World War II, the candies were exclusively sold to the military. The resulting demand caused an increase in production and the company moved its factory to bigger quarters at 200 North Twelfth Street in Newark, New Jersey. In 1958, the company moved to a bigger factory at Hackettstown. A second factory was opened in Cleveland, Tennessee, in 1978. Today, about half of the production of the confection occurs at the New Jersey factory, and half at the Tennessee factory.

In 1949, the brand introduced the tagline "the milk chocolate that melts in your mouth, not in your hand". In 1950, a black "M" was imprinted on the candies giving them a unique trademark. It was changed to white in 1954. In the early 1950s, the Midwest Research Institute, now MRIGlobal, in Kansas City, Missouri, worked on behalf of the confection company to perfect a process whereby 3,300 pounds (1,500 kg) of chocolate centers could be coated every hour.

1980s: Expanding internationally

In the 1980s, the confections were introduced internationally to Australia, Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom. M&Ms Royals were marketed in the early 1980s with an advertising campaign that said: "Now chocolate's got a whisper of mint." They were colored pale green or brown and showed a crown rather than an M&Ms logo.

Holidays Chocolate Candies for Easter and Christmas were launched in 1986, with the Easter confection having a bunny, chick, and egg symbols on pastel-colored shells and the Christmas confection having pine tree, bell, and candle symbols on red and green shells. The green shells had a special mint flavor. By 1993, the holiday symbols were replaced with the standard trademark "M".

In 1988, the almond-centered variety once offered in the 1960s became available again in limited release, with appearances only during Christmas and Easter times. They became a standard part of the product line in 1992.

1990s: New flavors ring

In 1991, the Peanut Butter variety was released. These candies have peanut butter inside the chocolate shell and the same color scheme as the other varieties of the confection. As of at least 2013, the size of the peanut butter M&M has become slightly smaller. In 1995, tan M&Ms were discontinued to be replaced by blue. To introduce the new color, the Home Shopping Network televised a promotional video for the blue M&M. Producer Jon Watson became the first man to wear the famous blue M&M suit.

During the 1990s, Europe first began to adopt the M&M's brand name, replacing existing products. Two of these products were known as "Treets" and "Bonitos". In 1996, Mars introduced "M&M's Minis", smaller confections usually sold in plastic tubes instead of bags. In 1999, Crispy M&Ms were released. They were slightly larger than the milk chocolate variety and also featured a crispy wafer center. The Crispy variety was discontinued in the United States in 2005, before being reintroduced in 2015 and re-discontinued in 2022 to make way for the Crunchy Cookie flavor. They remained available in Europe and Australia.

2000s–present: New flavors and re-releases

In July 2001, the dulce de leche variety was introduced in five markets with large Hispanic populations: Los Angeles, California; San Diego, California; Miami, Florida; McAllen-Brownsville, Texas; and San Antonio, Texas. The product never became popular with the Hispanic community, who preferred existing varieties, and the variety was discontinued in most areas by early 2003.

Several other varieties of M&M debuted throughout the 2010s. These include a Pretzel variety released in 2010, a limited edition Coffee Nut variety released in 2016, another Caramel variety released in 2017, a limited edition English Toffee variety released in 2019, and a limited edition Hazelnut Spread variety also released in 2019.

A range of additional products was launched in the 2000s and 2010s to expand beyond the traditional line of candies. A chocolate bar called the M-Azing was initially released in 2004, and relaunched in 2013, Oversized confections entitled the "Mega" variety were briefly released in 2007 to promote the Shrek film series, before being introduced as a standalone product in 2014. M&M cookies began to be sold in the United States in 2016. M&M chocolate blocks were released in Australia in 2017.

In 2020, a Fudge Brownie variety was released in the United States. They were discontinued in April 2024.

In September 2022, the introduction of a purple variety was announced, as well as their newest "spokescandy", Purple.

Mars, Inc. announced the introduction of a new variation of its iconic M&M's candies produced entirely without artificial dyes, starting in August 2026. The product rollout was timed alongside the brand's 85th anniversary.

Ingredients

A traditional milk chocolate M&M weighs approximately 0.91 grams / 0.032 ounces. It has approximately 4.7 calories (kcal) of food energy (1.7 kcal from fat). Contrary to a misconception held by some, each colored M&M does not have a different flavor. All possess the same chocolate taste.

Marketing

Over the years, marketing has helped build and expand the M&M's brand. Computer-animated graphics, personification of the confections as characters with cartoon-like storytelling, and various merchandising techniques including the introduction of new flavors, colors, and customizable merchandise have helped to increase the brand's recognition as a candy icon.

In 1982, the Mars candy bar company rejected the inclusion of the confection in the new Steven Spielberg film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. However, competitor Hershey took a chance with their Reese's Pieces that are similar, but contain a peanut butter filling. With the film's blockbuster success, Reese's Pieces sales dramatically increased, perhaps by as much as 300%.

Marketing campaigns

Between 1982 and 1987, the company slogan was "All the World Loves M&M's", accompanied by a television jingle of the same name. Actor Joel Higgins, then co-starring in the NBC-TV sitcom Silver Spoons, co-wrote the song.

In 1990 at New York's Erie County Fair, the company exhibited a life-size fiberglass cow covered with 66,000 M&M candies—each adhered by hand with the "m" logo on each candy facing outward. According to a website run by the cow's designer, Michael Adams, the stunt earned M&M Mars $1 million in free publicity because it was reported on by Newsweek magazine, as well as the New York Post, UPI, WABC-TV, and Live with Regis.

In 1995, the company ran M&M's Color Campaign, a contest in which participants were given the choice of selecting purple, blue, or pink as the color of a new variety of the confection. The announcement of the winning color (blue) was carried on most of the network television news programs, as well as the talk shows of David Letterman and Jay Leno. As part of the contest results, the company had the Empire State Building lit up in blue. Although the financial details of these deals were not disclosed and neither was the effect of the campaign on sales, one marketing book estimated that the company "collected millions" in free publicity and that the campaign "certainly" resulted in an increasing of brand awareness.

In 1996, Mars produced Christmas-themed advertisement for the confections in which the Red and Yellow characters run into Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Similarly to competitor Hershey's own Christmas-themed commercial. The commercial proved immensely successful and has re-aired every December since, becoming their longest-running television commercial.

Since MM is the Roman numeral for 2000, the confections were styled as "The Official Candy of the New Millennium" in 1998. This date was also the release of the rainbow variety that are multi-colored and filled with an assortment of different fillings.

In 2000, the "Plain" variety, a name created in 1954 when "Peanut" variety was introduced, was renamed "Milk Chocolate". Images of the colorful confections were added to the traditional brown and white packaging.

Joint marketing campaigns

In 1990, Mars Snackfood US signed up to be a sponsor for NASCAR in the NASCAR Cup Series. Through the years, drivers for their sponsored car have included: Ernie Irvan (1999), Ken Schrader (2000–02), Elliott Sadler (2003–06), Ricky Rudd (2007), David Gilliland (2006–07), Michael McDowell, Matt Crafton, Erik Jones, David Ragan, and Kyle Busch, 2008–2022, who won the 2015 Sprint Cup Series Championship & 2019 Monster Energy Cup Series Championship.

2022 was the final year for Mars as Busch's sponsor. Mars also sponsored Busch in the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series along with Busch's team, Kyle Busch Motorsports. Mars sponsored the 2022 NASCAR Cup Race at Pocono, entitled the "M&M's Fan Appreciation 400". Five years later, in 2026, M&M's returned to NASCAR to sponsor Ty Gibbs' throwback to Busch's No. 18 car as a remembrance to Busch.

The introduction of the blue M&M to Australia was promoted by the Australian Football League's Carlton Football Club that wore sky-blue colored guernseys in one of its matches in 1997 instead of its traditional navy blue – a color the successful and fiercely traditional club had worn since the 1870s. In 2010, Mars Snackfood Australia described it as the most successful promotional campaign it had ever engaged in.

In April 2005, the company ran the "mPire" promotion to tie in with the Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith film release. M&M's were offered in dark chocolate varieties (regular and Peanut) for the first time after a string of Addams Family commercials for the confection.

In May 2004, the Mars company ran a Shrek 2 promotion to tie in the confection with the release of the film. The confections were offered as "ogre-sized" (65% larger) and in swamp-ogre colors. They were sold at many stores displayed in huge cardboard-cutout ogre displays. In the summer of 2005, Mars added "Mega" to the product lineup. These confections, at 55% larger than the traditional size, were a little smaller than the ogre-sized version. They were available in milk chocolate and peanut varieties. The colors of the sugarcoating were changed to less-bright colors, ostensibly to appeal to older consumers: teal (replacing green), beige (replacing orange), maroon (replacing red), gold (replacing yellow), blue-gray (replacing blue), and brown.

Related brands

Related confection brands from Mars include Minstrels, Revels, Skittles, and Treets.

M&M characters

Early black-and-white ads for the confection in 1954 featured two talking, anthropomorphic M&M characters—one plain and one peanut—diving into a swimming pool full of chocolate.

The first incarnation of the characters in CGI was a 1994 celebrity campaign that had the characters interacting with celebrities on which M&M candy color is their favorite. This campaign was created by Blue Sky Studios. Concurrent with the 1995 blue M&M campaign, the company introduced a second set of computer-animated "spokescandies" in their television commercials.

The depiction and campaign of the M&Ms were made by Will Vinton in 1995. Vinton previously created the clay-animated California Raisins in 1986. Around the time he worked on CGI projects, he made the depiction of the M&M characters as more mature than most food mascots. These include the team of the cynical and sardonic Red, originally voiced by Jon Lovitz, thereafter Billy West, the voice of the mascots for milk chocolate, peanut butter, and crispy.

The happy and gullible Yellow, originally voiced by John Goodman, thereafter J. K. Simmons, is the mascot for Peanut and originally was known as "Peanut" when that variety was first introduced. The "cool one", Blue, voiced by Robb Pruitt, is the mascot for Almond M&M's.

The seductive Green, voiced by Cree Summer in most regions, and by Larissa Murray in the UK, is the mascot for Dark Chocolate Mint and Peanut Butter. Her personality is a reference to the 1970s urban legend that green M&Ms were aphrodisiacs.

The slightly neurotic Orange, voiced by Eric Kirchberger, was introduced when the Crispy variety was first released and is the mascot Pretzel that debuted in 2010. As the mascot of Pretzel, Orange was joined by the second non-M&M mascot, Pretzel Guy, who "supports" the character and offers helpful advice, and who hates the idea of having a pretzel put inside his body.

Other mascots who were introduced, but no longer used, are Almond, the original green guy; Orange, a female peanut character; and Chocolate Bar, voiced by Phil Hartman, the first non-M&M character that always gets foiled or outdone by Red and Yellow by being melted, as M&Ms do not melt. Swarmees for the Minis candies, were portrayed as destructive yet crafty troublemakers whom Red and Yellow are always trying unsuccessfully to contain after they accidentally released them in the product's initial commercial.

Color changes

The original 1941 colors of M&M candies were red, yellow, violet, green, and brown. Violet was discontinued and replaced with tan in the late 1940s.

In 1976, Mars eliminated red-colored M&Ms because of health concerns over the dye amaranth (FD&C Red #2) that was a suspected carcinogen and they introduced the orange variety. Despite the fact that M&Ms never had contained the dye, this action was taken by Mars purely to avoid any concerns by worried consumers. Ten years later, a student at University of Tennessee, Paul Hethmon, started a joke campaign to reinstate red M&Ms that would eventually become a worldwide phenomenon. The red M&Ms variety was reintroduced as a result and the orange variety that had replaced them were kept in production.

In Europe, the red M&Ms contains red dye carmine (E120, cochineal).

Tan was replaced with blue in late 1995, following a promotion in which consumers were invited to vote on which of blue, pink, or purple would replace the tan M&Ms. Blue was the winning color with 54% of the votes. Consumers could vote by calling 1-800-fun-color. Ads for the new blue colors featured a plain and an almond blue M&M character.

Red and Yellow were depicted as trying to do takes in the commercial by painting themselves blue where they appear on stage with B. B. King singing the blues, but the filmmakers had to cut the scene as they were not using the correct shade of blue proposed. Another version of the commercial featured Red and Yellow holding their breath to resemble the new blue M&Ms where Steven Weber sees the three M&M characters, Red, Yellow, and Blue. Another version featuring Weber asked the blue M&M whether or not it had dived into the chocolate pool.

In 2002, Mars solicited votes in their first ever "M&M's Global Color Vote" to add a new color from three choices: aqua (turquoise), pink, and purple. To help the colors get votes, Ken Schrader and his MB2 Motorsports team, who was sponsored by the company at the time, ran four paint schemes during the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season representing the promotion, one for aqua, one for pink, one for purple, and another one with all three colors on the car. Once purple won and was featured for a limited time, specially marked packages of the confection were released. Finding a bag of all purple M&Ms entitled American customers to a prize of 100 million Japanese yen (equivalent to approximately US$852,000), payable in U.S. dollars. Other cash prizes, numbering more than 50,000, came in euros, Australian dollars, Brazilian reais, Mexican pesos, and U.S. pennies.