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This article is about the candy. For other uses, see M&M.

M&M’s

Owner	Mars, Incorporated
Country	United States
Introduced	September 10, 1941; 81 years ago
Related brands	Minstrels, Revels, Treets
Markets	Worldwide (over 100 countries)[1]
Website	mms.com

M&M’s (stylized as m&m’s) are multi-colored button-shaped chocolates, each of which has the letter «m» printed in lower case in white on one side, consisting of a candy shell surrounding a filling which varies depending upon the variety of M&M’s. The original candy has a semi-sweet chocolate filling which, upon introduction of other variations, was branded as the «plain, normal» variety. Peanut M&M’s, which feature a peanut coated in milk chocolate, and finally a candy shell, were the first variation to be introduced, and they remain a regular variety. Numerous other variations have been introduced, some of which are regular widespread varieties (peanut butter, almond, pretzel, crispy, dark chocolate, and caramel) while others are limited in duration or geographic availability. M&M’s are the flagship product of the Mars Wrigley Confectionery division of Mars, Incorporated.

The candy originated in the United States in 1941,^[2] and M&M’s have been sold in over 100 countries since 2003.^[1] They are produced in different colors, some of which have changed over the years. The candy-coated chocolate concept was inspired by a method used to allow soldiers in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)^[3] to carry chocolate in warm climates without it melting. The company’s longest-lasting slogan reflects this: «Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.» A traditional milk chocolate M&M weighs about 0.91 grams / 0.032 ounces^[4] and has about 4.7 calories (kcal) of food energy (1.7 kcal from fat).^[5] Despite commonly reported misinformation online, each colored M&M does not have a different flavor and all possess the same chocolate taste.^[6]

History

1940–70s

Forrest Mars Sr., son of the Mars Company founder, Frank C. Mars, copied the idea for the candy in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War when he saw soldiers eating British-made Smarties, chocolate pellets with a colored shell of what confectioners call hard panning (essentially hardened sugar syrup) surrounding the outside, preventing the sweets (candies) from melting. Mars received a patent for his own process on March 3, 1941. Production began in 1941 in a factory located at 285 Badger Avenue in Clinton Hill, Newark, New Jersey. When the company was founded it was M&M Limited.^[8] The two ‘M’s represent the names of Forrest E. Mars Sr., the founder of Newark Company, and Bruce Murrie, son of Hershey Chocolate’s president William F. R. Murrie, who had a 20 percent share in the product.^[9] The arrangement allowed the candies to be made with Hershey chocolate, as Hershey had control of the rationed chocolate at the time.

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.^[10] The resulting demand for the candies caused an increase in production and the company moved its factory to bigger quarters at 200 North 12th Street in Newark, New Jersey, where it remained until 1958 when it moved to a bigger factory at Hackettstown. A second factory was opened in Cleveland, Tennessee, in 1978.^[11] Today, about half of the production of M&M’s occurs at the New Jersey factory, and half at the Tennessee factory.^[12]

In 1949, the brand introduced the tagline «Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.»^[13]

In 1950, a black «M» was imprinted on the candies giving them a unique trademark. It was changed to white in 1954.^[8]

In the early 1950s, the Midwest Research Institute (now MRIGlobal) in Kansas City, Missouri, worked on behalf of M&M’s to perfect a process whereby 3,300 pounds (1,500 kg) of chocolate centers could be coated every hour.^[14]

Peanut M&M’s were introduced in 1954 but first appeared^[15] only in the color tan. In 1960, M&M’s added the yellow, red, and green colors.^[16]

In 1976, the color orange was added to the mix to replace red, which was discontinued in response to the «red dye scare» over Red Dyes #2 and #4 having been evaluated to be carcinogenic in nature. Although M&M’s were made with the less controversial Red Dye #40, the public was wary of any food being dyed red. Red M&M’s were re-introduced in 1987.
^[13][17]

1980s

In the 1980s, M&M’s were introduced internationally to Australia, Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom.^[18]

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.

Although they were marketed and then withdrawn in the 1960s, almond-centred M&M’s were available again in 1988 in limited release, with appearances only during Christmas and Easter times; they became a standard part of the product line in 1992.

Also in 1986, M&M’s launched Holidays Chocolate Candies for Easter and Christmas, with the Easter candies having a bunny, chick, and egg symbols on pastel-colored shells, and the Christmas candies having pine tree, bell, and candle symbols on red and green shells; with the latter also having a special mint flavor. By 1993, the holiday symbols were replaced with the standard trademark «M».

1990s

In 1991, Peanut Butter M&M’s were released. These candies have peanut butter inside the chocolate shell and the same color scheme as the other varieties. 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.^[19]

During the 1990s, Europe first began to adopt the M&M’s brand name, replacing existing products. Two of these were known as «Treats» and «Bonitos.»^{[citation needed]} In 1996, Mars introduced «M&M’s Minis», smaller candies usually sold in plastic tubes instead of bags.^[20] In 1999, Crispy M&M’s were released. They were slightly larger than the milk chocolate variety and also featured a crispy wafer center. They were discontinued in the United States in 2005 and remained available in Europe, and Southeast Asia. In January 2015, they returned to production in the United States.

2000s

In July 2001, dulce de leche M&M’s were introduced in five markets with large Hispanic populations: Los Angeles, California; San Diego, California; Miami, Florida; McAllen-Brownsville, Texas; and San Antonio, Texas.^[21] The flavor never became popular with the Hispanic community, who preferred existing M&M’s flavors, and it was discontinued in most areas by early 2003.^[22]

2010s

In 2010, Pretzel M&M’s were released. They contain a crunchy, salty pretzel center inside of the chocolate coating and are about the same size as the Peanut M&M’s, but their shape tends to be more spherical.^[23]

In 2013, the M&M’s chocolate bar was re-released. It was originally released in 2004 and named M-Azing.^[24]

In 2014, Mega M&M’s were re-introduced. Before then, the ‘Mega M&M’s’ had been released in 2007 promoting the Shrek films, being dubbed «Ogre-Sized M&M’s».^[25]

In 2015, Crispy M&M’s were re-introduced in the United States. They had remained available continuously in Europe and Australia.^[26]

In 2016, the M&M cookie was re-introduced in the United States.

Also in 2016, the M&M’s flavor vote was created in which the fans could vote for either Honey Nut, Coffee Nut, or Chili Nut M&M’s. Coffee Nut was announced as the winner by Tony Hale.^[27]

In April 2017, M&M’s chocolate blocks went on sale in Australia. Six varieties (milk chocolate, strawberry, crispy, hazelnut, crispy mint and almond) are available.^[28]

Also in 2017, Caramel M&M’s were released in the United States.^[29]

In 2019, the M&M’s flavor vote cast three new flavors: English Toffee, Mexican Jalapeño, and Thai Coconut, with English Toffee winning.^[30][31]

Also in 2019, Hazelnut Spread M&M’s were released in the United States.^[32]

2020s

In 2020, Fudge Brownie M&M’s were released in the United States.

On September 28, 2022, the introduction of purple M&M’s were announced, as well as their newest spokescandy, Purple.

Marketing

Over the years, marketing has helped build and expand the M&M’s brand. Computer-animated graphics, personification of the candies 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 M&M’s in the new Steven Spielberg film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. However, competitor Hershey took a chance with their Reese’s Pieces, which is similar to M&M’s but contains a peanut butter filling. With the film’s blockbuster success, Reese’s Pieces sales dramatically increased, perhaps by as much as 300%.^[33][34]

Marketing campaigns

Between 1982 and 1987, its slogan was «All the World Loves M&M’s», accompanied by a TV jingle of the same name. Actor Joel Higgins, then co-starring in the NBC-TV sitcom Silver Spoons, co-wrote the song.^[35]

In 1990, M&M’s exhibited at New York’s Erie County Fair 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 and WABC-TV, and Live with Regis.^[36]

In 1995, the company ran the 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 M&M’s. The announcement of the winning color (blue) was carried on most of the television networks’ news programs, as well as the talk shows of David Letterman and Jay Leno.^[37] As part of the contest results, the company had the Empire State Building lighted in blue.^[37] Although the financial details of these deals were not disclosed and neither was the campaign’s effect on sales, one marketing book estimated that the company «collected millions» in free publicity and that the campaign «certainly» resulted in an increasing of the brand’s awareness.^[37]

In 1996, Mars produced Christmas-themed advertisement for the candies 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 that year, becoming their longest-running television commercial.

In 1998, M&M’s were styled as «The Official Candy of the New Millennium», as MM is the Roman numeral for 2000. This date was also the release of the rainbow M&M’s, which are multi-colored and filled with a variety of different fillings.

In 2000, «Plain» M&M’s (a name created in 1954 when «Peanut» M&M’s were introduced) were renamed «Milk Chocolate» M&M’s, and pictures of the candy pieces were added to the traditional brown and white packaging.^[38]

In 2004, M&M’s adopted the 1967 Petula Clark song «Colour My World» for its TV ads, albeit using newly recorded versions with other singers.^[39]

Joint marketing campaigns

In 1990, Mars Snackfood US signed up to be a sponsor for NASCAR in the NASCAR Cup Series. Drivers for the M&M’s-sponsored car through the years have included Ernie Irvan (1999), Ken Schrader (2000–02), Elliott Sadler (2003–06), Ricky Rudd (2007), David Gilliland (2006–07), Kyle Busch (2008–current, won 2015 Sprint Cup Series Championship & 2019 Monster Energy Cup Series Championship), Michael McDowell, Matt Crafton, Erik Jones and David Ragan. 2022 would be Mars final year as Busch’s sponsor. Mars has also sponsored Busch in the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series along with Busch’s team, Kyle Busch Motorsports. Mars sponsored the 2022 NASCAR Cup Race at Pocono, titled the “M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400”.

The introduction of the blue M&M to Australia was promoted by the Australian Football League’s Carlton Football Club, which wore sky-blue colored guernseys in one of its matches in 1997 instead of its traditional navy blue – a color which the successful and fiercely traditional club had worn since the 1870s.^[40] In 2010, Mars Snackfood Australia described it as the most successful promotional campaign it had ever engaged in.^[41]

In April 2005, M&M’s 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 M&M’s commercials.

In May 2004, M&M’s ran a Shrek 2 promotion to tie in with the film’s release. M&M’s were offered «ogre-sized» (65% larger) 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 M&M’s» to the lineup.^[42] These candies, at 55% larger than the traditional M&M’s, were a little smaller than the ogre-sized version. They were available in Milk Chocolate and Peanut varieties. The colors for Mega M&M’s 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.

In July 2006, Dark Chocolate M&M’s reappeared in a purple package, followed in 2007 by Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M’s. Also in 2006, the company piloted White Chocolate M&M’s as a tie-in with their Pirates of the Caribbean promotion. The company also offered eight new flavors of M&M’s via online sales, as well as at M&M’s World locations: «All That Razz»; «Eat, Drink, & Be Cherry»; «A Day at the Peach»; «Orange-U-Glad»; «Mint Condition»; «AlmonDeeLicious»; «Nut What You Think»; and «Cookie Monster». Mars also released a «Crispy Mint» variety in Australia that year.

Also in 2006, M&M’s became the official chocolate of NASCAR.

In 2007, M&M’s introduced a limited-edition raspberry flavor called «M&M’s Razzberry Chocolate Candies».

Also in 2007, M&M’s produced a 50-foot, smiling Lady Liberty M&M statue to kick off a campaign encouraging Americans to create their own M&M characters at mms.com. The website allows for people to log in and create their own character from scratch. They can choose features such as the color, shape, hair, and accessories.

In 2008, two limited-edition varieties of the candy were introduced – «Wildly Cherry» M&M’s, and, as a marketing tie-in with the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, «Mint Crisp» M&M’s.

M&M’s also introduced another new product called «M&M’s Premiums» in 2008. They come in five flavors – chocolate almond, mint chocolate, mocha, raspberry almond, and triple chocolate (milk, dark, and white chocolate), which are sold in small upright cartons with a plastic bag inside. M&M’s Premiums do not have a candy shell, but are coated with carnauba wax and color. Dark chocolate was added in 2009, replacing mocha.

During the summer of 2008, My M&M’s launched ‘Faces,’ which allows consumers to print the faces of loved ones on M&M’s chocolate candies at mymms.com.

In February 2009, M&M’s launched the «M&M’s Colour Break-Up» promotion in Australia, where M&M’s were sold in separate packs (one for each color): the packs included a code to win prizes.^[43]

In summer 2009, M&M’s launched a limited-edition «Strawberried Peanut Butter» variant to tie in with the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. In addition, M&M’s launched a limited edition «Coconut M&M’s», which became a permanent item in 2010.

In early 2010, M&M’s Bare All were released as part of a competition in Australia and New Zealand.^[44][45] M&M’s Bare All winning packs were ordinary M&M’s, but without colored shells. An official website was launched, along with television advertisements.^[46][47] In April 2010, M&M’s launched a new Pretzel variety.^[23] In November 2011, Mars released a limited edition M&M’s Cinnamon Milk Chocolate for Christmas.^[48]

About the time Pretzel M&M’s came out, the M&M’s wrapper designs in the US were redone from the design used from 2004 to early 2010.^[23]

In 2012, M&M’s released two new Dark Chocolate flavors: Raspberry and Mint. Also that year, M&M’s released a White Chocolate flavor for the Easter season. From May 30, 2012, onwards, M&M’s will be launched in Macau. Its Macanese launch language is Portuguese. In 2012, Peanut M&M’s were produced in the UK in a limited edition «Red, White and Blues only» pack, in connection with the country’s Diamond Jubilee and 2012 Summer Olympics. The ‘M’ remains white on the white candies. The commercial advertising this promotional package had Yellow donning various outfits of British stereotypes to try to get into the limited edition pack. Similarly, to promote the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Peanut M&M’s were produced in a pack that contained only green, yellow, and blue candies, dubbed «Brazilian M&M’s» in reference to the colors of the flag of Brazil. «Brazilian M&M’s» were re-released in 2016 to promote the 2016 Summer Olympics, but are now available in both Chocolate and Peanut.

In 2013, M&M’s launched the «Better with M» campaign, which included cause-related marketing. The campaign worked with Habitat for Humanity and encouraged fans to use a Facebook app to volunteer at the various sites where the homes were being built.^[49] The advertising campaign was one of the largest that Mars had ever executed.^[49] The 2013 «America Better With M» initiative sought to provide money directly to Habitat for Humanity through offering limited versions of M&M’s in red, white and blue.

Since 1988, specially designed packages of red, white and blue Presidential M&M’s have been given as souvenirs to guests of the President of the United States. One side of the box features the presidential seal and the signature of the current president; the other side includes an M&M’s character flying the American flag. A common misconception is that every candy is stamped with the presidential seal; however, some U.S. embassies around the world do offer M&M’s stamped with the seal of the United States.

M&M’s World specialty shops have been established in some locations, including Las Vegas, Orlando, New York, London, and Shanghai.

Several M&Ms-themed video games have been created. The first was M&M’s The Lost Formulas, released on September 28, 2000.

Related brands

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

M&M’s characters

Early black-and-white adverts for the candy in 1954 featured two talking, anthropomorphic M&M characters—one plain and one peanut—diving into a swimming pool full of chocolate.^[50]

The first incarnation of the characters in CGI was a 1994 celebrity campaign which had the characters interacting with celebrities on which M&Ms candy color is their favorite. This campaign was created by Blue Sky Studios. Concurrent with 1995’s blue M&M campaign, M&M’s introduced second computer-animated «spokescandies» in their television commercials. The depiction and campaign of the M&M’s 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’s 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)^[51] who is the mascot for milk chocolate, peanut butter, and crispy M&M’s, and the happy and gullible Yellow (originally voiced by John Goodman, thereafter J.K. Simmons), who is the mascot for Peanut M&M’s (he was originally known as «Peanut» when first introduced). Other mascots include the «cool one», Blue (voiced by Robb Pruitt)^[52][53] who is the mascot for Almond M&M’s; the seductive Green (her personality is a reference to the 1970s urban legend that green M&Ms were aphrodisiacs)^[54] (voiced by Cree Summer and Larissa Murray),^[53] who is the mascot for both Dark Chocolate Mint and Peanut Butter M&M’s, and the slightly neurotic Orange (voiced by Eric Kirchberger), who was introduced when Crispy M&M’s were first released and returned when Pretzel M&M’s debuted in 2010. Orange, upon his return, was joined by the second non-M&M mascot, Pretzel Guy, who «supports» him and offers helpful advice as he hates the idea of having a pretzel put inside his body.

Other mascots that were introduced, but no longer used, are Almond, the original green guy; Orange, a female peanut character; Chocolate Bar (voiced by Phil Hartman),^[53] the first non-M&M character that always gets foiled or outdone by Red and Yellow by being melted, as M&M’s do not melt; and the Swarmees for M&M’s Minis candies, which are portrayed as destructive yet crafty troublemakers whom Red and Yellow are always trying unsuccessfully to contain.

Female M&M’s mascots were introduced in 1995. Green was the Milk Chocolate mascot and Tan was the Peanut. Marketing discontinued Tan when they introduced the then-new Blue mascot. Green was the only female M&M’s mascot from her introduction in 1995 until 2012 when M&M’s unveiled a new additional spokescandy, Ms. Brown (voiced by Miss America 1984, Vanessa Williams), the «Chief Chocolate Officer».^[55] She made her debut in a Super Bowl XLVI advertisement, where several people at a party assume she is naked because her shell is the same color as her insides, which causes Red to remove his outer shell saying «So, it’s that kind of party», and start dancing to the LMFAO song «Sexy And I Know It.»

During a Super Bowl LII advertisement, Red was transformed into a human after finding a lucky penny and wishing that he was inedible. As a human, he is portrayed by Danny DeVito.^[56] In January 2022, Mars announced plans to alter the design of the M&Ms characters. The company announced that the aim of this change was to make their characters more representative of a broader array of human personalities and personal backgrounds. Among these changes is the adoption of more casual clothing for the Green and Brown M&Ms, both of which are generally interpreted to be female characters.^[57] In September 2022 they introduced a new Purple M&M voiced by Amber Ruffin^[58] who first appeared in a commercial singing «I’m Just Gonna Be Me».^[59]

Color changes

The original colors of M&M’s candies were red, yellow, violet, green and brown.^[60] Violet was discontinued and replaced with tan in the late 1940s.

In 1976, Mars eliminated red-colored M&M’s^[61] because of health concerns over the dye amaranth (FD&C Red #2), which was a suspected carcinogen, and replaced them with orange M&M’s. This was done despite the fact that M&M’s did not contain the dye; the action was purely to satisfy worried consumers.^[13] Ten years later, Paul Hethmon, then a student at University of Tennessee, started a joke campaign to reinstate red M&M’s that would eventually become a worldwide phenomenon.^[62] Red M&M’s were reintroduced as a result, and the orange M&M’s that had originally replaced them were kept in production. In Europe, red M&M’s contain the red dye carmine (E120, cochineal).^[63]

In early 1995, Mars ran a promotion in which consumers were invited to vote on which of blue, pink, or purple would replace the tan M&M’s. Blue was the winner with 54% of the votes.^[64] It replaced tan in late 1995. 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 as Red and Yellow take notice of 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 the real blue M&M’s; another featured Red and Yellow holding their breath to look like the new blue M&M’s, where Steven Weber sees the three M&M’s, Red, Yellow, and Blue; and one more featuring Weber talking to the blue M&M if he had dived into the chocolate pool, but did not.

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. Purple won and was featured for a limited time. To help the colors get votes, Ken Schrader and his MB2 Motorsports team, who was sponsored by M&M’s 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). Specially marked packages of M&M’s were released in Japan. Finding a bag of all purple M&M’s entitled the customer to a prize of 100 million yen (equivalent to approximately US$852,000).

Since 2004, M&M’s have been available online in 17 colors, with personalized phrases on each candy on the opposite side from the «m».^[65] Released around Christmas, these custom-printed M&M’s were originally intended for holiday greetings, but are now available all year round.

For the 2008 Valentine’s Day season, Mars introduced all-green bags of M&M’s. This was due to common urban folklore that says green M&M’s are an aphrodisiac.^[66] They were brought back for 2009 alongside the «Ms. Green Heats Up Valentine’s Day» contest.

In October 2011, Mars released M&M’s White Chocolate Candy Corn exclusively in the United States for Halloween. These candies come in three candy corn inspired colors: white, bright yellow, and bright orange.

The following is a summary of the changes to the colors of the flagship (milk chocolate) flavor of M&M’s, the only filling manufactured continuously since the beginning of the brand. From 1941 until 1969, each package contained M&M’s in five different colors; when red M&M’s were reintroduced in 1987, they were added as a sixth color instead of replacing any of the existing colors.

See also

• Smarties
• Cadbury Gems
• Reese’s Pieces
• Sixlets
• Freia’s Non Stop
• Hershey-ets
• Jelly Bellies
• Skittles

References

External links

• Official website
• The History of M&M’s Chocolates from us.mms.com

This article is about the candy. For other uses, see M&M.

M&M’s

Owner	Mars, Incorporated
Country	United States
Introduced	September 10, 1941; 81 years ago
Related brands	Minstrels, Revels, Treets
Markets	Worldwide (over 100 countries)[1]
Website	mms.com

M&M’s (stylized as m&m’s) are multi-colored button-shaped chocolates, each of which has the letter «m» printed in lower case in white on one side, consisting of a candy shell surrounding a filling which varies depending upon the variety of M&M’s. The original candy has a semi-sweet chocolate filling which, upon introduction of other variations, was branded as the «plain, normal» variety. Peanut M&M’s, which feature a peanut coated in milk chocolate, and finally a candy shell, were the first variation to be introduced, and they remain a regular variety. Numerous other variations have been introduced, some of which are regular widespread varieties (peanut butter, almond, pretzel, crispy, dark chocolate, and caramel) while others are limited in duration or geographic availability. M&M’s are the flagship product of the Mars Wrigley Confectionery division of Mars, Incorporated.

The candy originated in the United States in 1941,^[2] and M&M’s have been sold in over 100 countries since 2003.^[1] They are produced in different colors, some of which have changed over the years. The candy-coated chocolate concept was inspired by a method used to allow soldiers in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)^[3] to carry chocolate in warm climates without it melting. The company’s longest-lasting slogan reflects this: «Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.» A traditional milk chocolate M&M weighs about 0.91 grams / 0.032 ounces^[4] and has about 4.7 calories (kcal) of food energy (1.7 kcal from fat).^[5] Despite commonly reported misinformation online, each colored M&M does not have a different flavor and all possess the same chocolate taste.^[6]

History

1940–70s

Forrest Mars Sr., son of the Mars Company founder, Frank C. Mars, copied the idea for the candy in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War when he saw soldiers eating British-made Smarties, chocolate pellets with a colored shell of what confectioners call hard panning (essentially hardened sugar syrup) surrounding the outside, preventing the sweets (candies) from melting. Mars received a patent for his own process on March 3, 1941. Production began in 1941 in a factory located at 285 Badger Avenue in Clinton Hill, Newark, New Jersey. When the company was founded it was M&M Limited.^[8] The two ‘M’s represent the names of Forrest E. Mars Sr., the founder of Newark Company, and Bruce Murrie, son of Hershey Chocolate’s president William F. R. Murrie, who had a 20 percent share in the product.^[9] The arrangement allowed the candies to be made with Hershey chocolate, as Hershey had control of the rationed chocolate at the time.

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.^[10] The resulting demand for the candies caused an increase in production and the company moved its factory to bigger quarters at 200 North 12th Street in Newark, New Jersey, where it remained until 1958 when it moved to a bigger factory at Hackettstown. A second factory was opened in Cleveland, Tennessee, in 1978.^[11] Today, about half of the production of M&M’s occurs at the New Jersey factory, and half at the Tennessee factory.^[12]

In 1949, the brand introduced the tagline «Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.»^[13]

In 1950, a black «M» was imprinted on the candies giving them a unique trademark. It was changed to white in 1954.^[8]

In the early 1950s, the Midwest Research Institute (now MRIGlobal) in Kansas City, Missouri, worked on behalf of M&M’s to perfect a process whereby 3,300 pounds (1,500 kg) of chocolate centers could be coated every hour.^[14]

Peanut M&M’s were introduced in 1954 but first appeared^[15] only in the color tan. In 1960, M&M’s added the yellow, red, and green colors.^[16]

In 1976, the color orange was added to the mix to replace red, which was discontinued in response to the «red dye scare» over Red Dyes #2 and #4 having been evaluated to be carcinogenic in nature. Although M&M’s were made with the less controversial Red Dye #40, the public was wary of any food being dyed red. Red M&M’s were re-introduced in 1987.
^[13][17]

1980s

In the 1980s, M&M’s were introduced internationally to Australia, Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom.^[18]

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.

Although they were marketed and then withdrawn in the 1960s, almond-centred M&M’s were available again in 1988 in limited release, with appearances only during Christmas and Easter times; they became a standard part of the product line in 1992.

Also in 1986, M&M’s launched Holidays Chocolate Candies for Easter and Christmas, with the Easter candies having a bunny, chick, and egg symbols on pastel-colored shells, and the Christmas candies having pine tree, bell, and candle symbols on red and green shells; with the latter also having a special mint flavor. By 1993, the holiday symbols were replaced with the standard trademark «M».

1990s

In 1991, Peanut Butter M&M’s were released. These candies have peanut butter inside the chocolate shell and the same color scheme as the other varieties. 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.^[19]

During the 1990s, Europe first began to adopt the M&M’s brand name, replacing existing products. Two of these were known as «Treats» and «Bonitos.»^{[citation needed]} In 1996, Mars introduced «M&M’s Minis», smaller candies usually sold in plastic tubes instead of bags.^[20] In 1999, Crispy M&M’s were released. They were slightly larger than the milk chocolate variety and also featured a crispy wafer center. They were discontinued in the United States in 2005 and remained available in Europe, and Southeast Asia. In January 2015, they returned to production in the United States.

2000s

In July 2001, dulce de leche M&M’s were introduced in five markets with large Hispanic populations: Los Angeles, California; San Diego, California; Miami, Florida; McAllen-Brownsville, Texas; and San Antonio, Texas.^[21] The flavor never became popular with the Hispanic community, who preferred existing M&M’s flavors, and it was discontinued in most areas by early 2003.^[22]

2010s

In 2010, Pretzel M&M’s were released. They contain a crunchy, salty pretzel center inside of the chocolate coating and are about the same size as the Peanut M&M’s, but their shape tends to be more spherical.^[23]

In 2013, the M&M’s chocolate bar was re-released. It was originally released in 2004 and named M-Azing.^[24]

In 2014, Mega M&M’s were re-introduced. Before then, the ‘Mega M&M’s’ had been released in 2007 promoting the Shrek films, being dubbed «Ogre-Sized M&M’s».^[25]

In 2015, Crispy M&M’s were re-introduced in the United States. They had remained available continuously in Europe and Australia.^[26]

In 2016, the M&M cookie was re-introduced in the United States.

Also in 2016, the M&M’s flavor vote was created in which the fans could vote for either Honey Nut, Coffee Nut, or Chili Nut M&M’s. Coffee Nut was announced as the winner by Tony Hale.^[27]

In April 2017, M&M’s chocolate blocks went on sale in Australia. Six varieties (milk chocolate, strawberry, crispy, hazelnut, crispy mint and almond) are available.^[28]

Also in 2017, Caramel M&M’s were released in the United States.^[29]

In 2019, the M&M’s flavor vote cast three new flavors: English Toffee, Mexican Jalapeño, and Thai Coconut, with English Toffee winning.^[30][31]

Also in 2019, Hazelnut Spread M&M’s were released in the United States.^[32]

2020s

In 2020, Fudge Brownie M&M’s were released in the United States.

On September 28, 2022, the introduction of purple M&M’s were announced, as well as their newest spokescandy, Purple.

Marketing

Over the years, marketing has helped build and expand the M&M’s brand. Computer-animated graphics, personification of the candies 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 M&M’s in the new Steven Spielberg film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. However, competitor Hershey took a chance with their Reese’s Pieces, which is similar to M&M’s but contains a peanut butter filling. With the film’s blockbuster success, Reese’s Pieces sales dramatically increased, perhaps by as much as 300%.^[33][34]

Marketing campaigns

Between 1982 and 1987, its slogan was «All the World Loves M&M’s», accompanied by a TV jingle of the same name. Actor Joel Higgins, then co-starring in the NBC-TV sitcom Silver Spoons, co-wrote the song.^[35]

In 1990, M&M’s exhibited at New York’s Erie County Fair 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 and WABC-TV, and Live with Regis.^[36]

In 1995, the company ran the 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 M&M’s. The announcement of the winning color (blue) was carried on most of the television networks’ news programs, as well as the talk shows of David Letterman and Jay Leno.^[37] As part of the contest results, the company had the Empire State Building lighted in blue.^[37] Although the financial details of these deals were not disclosed and neither was the campaign’s effect on sales, one marketing book estimated that the company «collected millions» in free publicity and that the campaign «certainly» resulted in an increasing of the brand’s awareness.^[37]

In 1996, Mars produced Christmas-themed advertisement for the candies 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 that year, becoming their longest-running television commercial.

In 1998, M&M’s were styled as «The Official Candy of the New Millennium», as MM is the Roman numeral for 2000. This date was also the release of the rainbow M&M’s, which are multi-colored and filled with a variety of different fillings.

In 2000, «Plain» M&M’s (a name created in 1954 when «Peanut» M&M’s were introduced) were renamed «Milk Chocolate» M&M’s, and pictures of the candy pieces were added to the traditional brown and white packaging.^[38]

In 2004, M&M’s adopted the 1967 Petula Clark song «Colour My World» for its TV ads, albeit using newly recorded versions with other singers.^[39]

Joint marketing campaigns

In 1990, Mars Snackfood US signed up to be a sponsor for NASCAR in the NASCAR Cup Series. Drivers for the M&M’s-sponsored car through the years have included Ernie Irvan (1999), Ken Schrader (2000–02), Elliott Sadler (2003–06), Ricky Rudd (2007), David Gilliland (2006–07), Kyle Busch (2008–current, won 2015 Sprint Cup Series Championship & 2019 Monster Energy Cup Series Championship), Michael McDowell, Matt Crafton, Erik Jones and David Ragan. 2022 would be Mars final year as Busch’s sponsor. Mars has also sponsored Busch in the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series along with Busch’s team, Kyle Busch Motorsports. Mars sponsored the 2022 NASCAR Cup Race at Pocono, titled the “M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400”.

The introduction of the blue M&M to Australia was promoted by the Australian Football League’s Carlton Football Club, which wore sky-blue colored guernseys in one of its matches in 1997 instead of its traditional navy blue – a color which the successful and fiercely traditional club had worn since the 1870s.^[40] In 2010, Mars Snackfood Australia described it as the most successful promotional campaign it had ever engaged in.^[41]

In April 2005, M&M’s 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 M&M’s commercials.

In May 2004, M&M’s ran a Shrek 2 promotion to tie in with the film’s release. M&M’s were offered «ogre-sized» (65% larger) 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 M&M’s» to the lineup.^[42] These candies, at 55% larger than the traditional M&M’s, were a little smaller than the ogre-sized version. They were available in Milk Chocolate and Peanut varieties. The colors for Mega M&M’s 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.

In July 2006, Dark Chocolate M&M’s reappeared in a purple package, followed in 2007 by Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M’s. Also in 2006, the company piloted White Chocolate M&M’s as a tie-in with their Pirates of the Caribbean promotion. The company also offered eight new flavors of M&M’s via online sales, as well as at M&M’s World locations: «All That Razz»; «Eat, Drink, & Be Cherry»; «A Day at the Peach»; «Orange-U-Glad»; «Mint Condition»; «AlmonDeeLicious»; «Nut What You Think»; and «Cookie Monster». Mars also released a «Crispy Mint» variety in Australia that year.

Also in 2006, M&M’s became the official chocolate of NASCAR.

In 2007, M&M’s introduced a limited-edition raspberry flavor called «M&M’s Razzberry Chocolate Candies».

Also in 2007, M&M’s produced a 50-foot, smiling Lady Liberty M&M statue to kick off a campaign encouraging Americans to create their own M&M characters at mms.com. The website allows for people to log in and create their own character from scratch. They can choose features such as the color, shape, hair, and accessories.

In 2008, two limited-edition varieties of the candy were introduced – «Wildly Cherry» M&M’s, and, as a marketing tie-in with the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, «Mint Crisp» M&M’s.

M&M’s also introduced another new product called «M&M’s Premiums» in 2008. They come in five flavors – chocolate almond, mint chocolate, mocha, raspberry almond, and triple chocolate (milk, dark, and white chocolate), which are sold in small upright cartons with a plastic bag inside. M&M’s Premiums do not have a candy shell, but are coated with carnauba wax and color. Dark chocolate was added in 2009, replacing mocha.

During the summer of 2008, My M&M’s launched ‘Faces,’ which allows consumers to print the faces of loved ones on M&M’s chocolate candies at mymms.com.

In February 2009, M&M’s launched the «M&M’s Colour Break-Up» promotion in Australia, where M&M’s were sold in separate packs (one for each color): the packs included a code to win prizes.^[43]

In summer 2009, M&M’s launched a limited-edition «Strawberried Peanut Butter» variant to tie in with the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. In addition, M&M’s launched a limited edition «Coconut M&M’s», which became a permanent item in 2010.

In early 2010, M&M’s Bare All were released as part of a competition in Australia and New Zealand.^[44][45] M&M’s Bare All winning packs were ordinary M&M’s, but without colored shells. An official website was launched, along with television advertisements.^[46][47] In April 2010, M&M’s launched a new Pretzel variety.^[23] In November 2011, Mars released a limited edition M&M’s Cinnamon Milk Chocolate for Christmas.^[48]

About the time Pretzel M&M’s came out, the M&M’s wrapper designs in the US were redone from the design used from 2004 to early 2010.^[23]

In 2012, M&M’s released two new Dark Chocolate flavors: Raspberry and Mint. Also that year, M&M’s released a White Chocolate flavor for the Easter season. From May 30, 2012, onwards, M&M’s will be launched in Macau. Its Macanese launch language is Portuguese. In 2012, Peanut M&M’s were produced in the UK in a limited edition «Red, White and Blues only» pack, in connection with the country’s Diamond Jubilee and 2012 Summer Olympics. The ‘M’ remains white on the white candies. The commercial advertising this promotional package had Yellow donning various outfits of British stereotypes to try to get into the limited edition pack. Similarly, to promote the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Peanut M&M’s were produced in a pack that contained only green, yellow, and blue candies, dubbed «Brazilian M&M’s» in reference to the colors of the flag of Brazil. «Brazilian M&M’s» were re-released in 2016 to promote the 2016 Summer Olympics, but are now available in both Chocolate and Peanut.

In 2013, M&M’s launched the «Better with M» campaign, which included cause-related marketing. The campaign worked with Habitat for Humanity and encouraged fans to use a Facebook app to volunteer at the various sites where the homes were being built.^[49] The advertising campaign was one of the largest that Mars had ever executed.^[49] The 2013 «America Better With M» initiative sought to provide money directly to Habitat for Humanity through offering limited versions of M&M’s in red, white and blue.

Since 1988, specially designed packages of red, white and blue Presidential M&M’s have been given as souvenirs to guests of the President of the United States. One side of the box features the presidential seal and the signature of the current president; the other side includes an M&M’s character flying the American flag. A common misconception is that every candy is stamped with the presidential seal; however, some U.S. embassies around the world do offer M&M’s stamped with the seal of the United States.

M&M’s World specialty shops have been established in some locations, including Las Vegas, Orlando, New York, London, and Shanghai.

Several M&Ms-themed video games have been created. The first was M&M’s The Lost Formulas, released on September 28, 2000.

Related brands

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

M&M’s characters

Early black-and-white adverts for the candy in 1954 featured two talking, anthropomorphic M&M characters—one plain and one peanut—diving into a swimming pool full of chocolate.^[50]

The first incarnation of the characters in CGI was a 1994 celebrity campaign which had the characters interacting with celebrities on which M&Ms candy color is their favorite. This campaign was created by Blue Sky Studios. Concurrent with 1995’s blue M&M campaign, M&M’s introduced second computer-animated «spokescandies» in their television commercials. The depiction and campaign of the M&M’s 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’s 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)^[51] who is the mascot for milk chocolate, peanut butter, and crispy M&M’s, and the happy and gullible Yellow (originally voiced by John Goodman, thereafter J.K. Simmons), who is the mascot for Peanut M&M’s (he was originally known as «Peanut» when first introduced). Other mascots include the «cool one», Blue (voiced by Robb Pruitt)^[52][53] who is the mascot for Almond M&M’s; the seductive Green (her personality is a reference to the 1970s urban legend that green M&Ms were aphrodisiacs)^[54] (voiced by Cree Summer and Larissa Murray),^[53] who is the mascot for both Dark Chocolate Mint and Peanut Butter M&M’s, and the slightly neurotic Orange (voiced by Eric Kirchberger), who was introduced when Crispy M&M’s were first released and returned when Pretzel M&M’s debuted in 2010. Orange, upon his return, was joined by the second non-M&M mascot, Pretzel Guy, who «supports» him and offers helpful advice as he hates the idea of having a pretzel put inside his body.

Other mascots that were introduced, but no longer used, are Almond, the original green guy; Orange, a female peanut character; Chocolate Bar (voiced by Phil Hartman),^[53] the first non-M&M character that always gets foiled or outdone by Red and Yellow by being melted, as M&M’s do not melt; and the Swarmees for M&M’s Minis candies, which are portrayed as destructive yet crafty troublemakers whom Red and Yellow are always trying unsuccessfully to contain.

Female M&M’s mascots were introduced in 1995. Green was the Milk Chocolate mascot and Tan was the Peanut. Marketing discontinued Tan when they introduced the then-new Blue mascot. Green was the only female M&M’s mascot from her introduction in 1995 until 2012 when M&M’s unveiled a new additional spokescandy, Ms. Brown (voiced by Miss America 1984, Vanessa Williams), the «Chief Chocolate Officer».^[55] She made her debut in a Super Bowl XLVI advertisement, where several people at a party assume she is naked because her shell is the same color as her insides, which causes Red to remove his outer shell saying «So, it’s that kind of party», and start dancing to the LMFAO song «Sexy And I Know It.»

During a Super Bowl LII advertisement, Red was transformed into a human after finding a lucky penny and wishing that he was inedible. As a human, he is portrayed by Danny DeVito.^[56] In January 2022, Mars announced plans to alter the design of the M&Ms characters. The company announced that the aim of this change was to make their characters more representative of a broader array of human personalities and personal backgrounds. Among these changes is the adoption of more casual clothing for the Green and Brown M&Ms, both of which are generally interpreted to be female characters.^[57] In September 2022 they introduced a new Purple M&M voiced by Amber Ruffin^[58] who first appeared in a commercial singing «I’m Just Gonna Be Me».^[59]

Color changes

The original colors of M&M’s candies were red, yellow, violet, green and brown.^[60] Violet was discontinued and replaced with tan in the late 1940s.

In 1976, Mars eliminated red-colored M&M’s^[61] because of health concerns over the dye amaranth (FD&C Red #2), which was a suspected carcinogen, and replaced them with orange M&M’s. This was done despite the fact that M&M’s did not contain the dye; the action was purely to satisfy worried consumers.^[13] Ten years later, Paul Hethmon, then a student at University of Tennessee, started a joke campaign to reinstate red M&M’s that would eventually become a worldwide phenomenon.^[62] Red M&M’s were reintroduced as a result, and the orange M&M’s that had originally replaced them were kept in production. In Europe, red M&M’s contain the red dye carmine (E120, cochineal).^[63]

In early 1995, Mars ran a promotion in which consumers were invited to vote on which of blue, pink, or purple would replace the tan M&M’s. Blue was the winner with 54% of the votes.^[64] It replaced tan in late 1995. 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 as Red and Yellow take notice of 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 the real blue M&M’s; another featured Red and Yellow holding their breath to look like the new blue M&M’s, where Steven Weber sees the three M&M’s, Red, Yellow, and Blue; and one more featuring Weber talking to the blue M&M if he had dived into the chocolate pool, but did not.

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. Purple won and was featured for a limited time. To help the colors get votes, Ken Schrader and his MB2 Motorsports team, who was sponsored by M&M’s 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). Specially marked packages of M&M’s were released in Japan. Finding a bag of all purple M&M’s entitled the customer to a prize of 100 million yen (equivalent to approximately US$852,000).

Since 2004, M&M’s have been available online in 17 colors, with personalized phrases on each candy on the opposite side from the «m».^[65] Released around Christmas, these custom-printed M&M’s were originally intended for holiday greetings, but are now available all year round.

For the 2008 Valentine’s Day season, Mars introduced all-green bags of M&M’s. This was due to common urban folklore that says green M&M’s are an aphrodisiac.^[66] They were brought back for 2009 alongside the «Ms. Green Heats Up Valentine’s Day» contest.

In October 2011, Mars released M&M’s White Chocolate Candy Corn exclusively in the United States for Halloween. These candies come in three candy corn inspired colors: white, bright yellow, and bright orange.

The following is a summary of the changes to the colors of the flagship (milk chocolate) flavor of M&M’s, the only filling manufactured continuously since the beginning of the brand. From 1941 until 1969, each package contained M&M’s in five different colors; when red M&M’s were reintroduced in 1987, they were added as a sixth color instead of replacing any of the existing colors.

See also

• Smarties
• Cadbury Gems
• Reese’s Pieces
• Sixlets
• Freia’s Non Stop
• Hershey-ets
• Jelly Bellies
• Skittles

References

External links

• Official website
• The History of M&M’s Chocolates from us.mms.com

This article is about the candy. For other uses, see M&M.

M&M’s

Owner	Mars, Incorporated
Country	United States
Introduced	September 10, 1941; 81 years ago
Related brands	Minstrels, Revels, Treets
Markets	Worldwide (over 100 countries)[1]
Website	mms.com

M&M’s (stylized as m&m’s) are multi-colored button-shaped chocolates, each of which has the letter «m» printed in lower case in white on one side, consisting of a candy shell surrounding a filling which varies depending upon the variety of M&M’s. The original candy has a semi-sweet chocolate filling which, upon introduction of other variations, was branded as the «plain, normal» variety. Peanut M&M’s, which feature a peanut coated in milk chocolate, and finally a candy shell, were the first variation to be introduced, and they remain a regular variety. Numerous other variations have been introduced, some of which are regular widespread varieties (peanut butter, almond, pretzel, crispy, dark chocolate, and caramel) while others are limited in duration or geographic availability. M&M’s are the flagship product of the Mars Wrigley Confectionery division of Mars, Incorporated.

The candy originated in the United States in 1941,^[2] and M&M’s have been sold in over 100 countries since 2003.^[1] They are produced in different colors, some of which have changed over the years. The candy-coated chocolate concept was inspired by a method used to allow soldiers in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)^[3] to carry chocolate in warm climates without it melting. The company’s longest-lasting slogan reflects this: «Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.» A traditional milk chocolate M&M weighs about 0.91 grams / 0.032 ounces^[4] and has about 4.7 calories (kcal) of food energy (1.7 kcal from fat).^[5] Despite commonly reported misinformation online, each colored M&M does not have a different flavor and all possess the same chocolate taste.^[6]

History

1940–70s

Forrest Mars Sr., son of the Mars Company founder, Frank C. Mars, copied the idea for the candy in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War when he saw soldiers eating British-made Smarties, chocolate pellets with a colored shell of what confectioners call hard panning (essentially hardened sugar syrup) surrounding the outside, preventing the sweets (candies) from melting. Mars received a patent for his own process on March 3, 1941. Production began in 1941 in a factory located at 285 Badger Avenue in Clinton Hill, Newark, New Jersey. When the company was founded it was M&M Limited.^[8] The two ‘M’s represent the names of Forrest E. Mars Sr., the founder of Newark Company, and Bruce Murrie, son of Hershey Chocolate’s president William F. R. Murrie, who had a 20 percent share in the product.^[9] The arrangement allowed the candies to be made with Hershey chocolate, as Hershey had control of the rationed chocolate at the time.

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.^[10] The resulting demand for the candies caused an increase in production and the company moved its factory to bigger quarters at 200 North 12th Street in Newark, New Jersey, where it remained until 1958 when it moved to a bigger factory at Hackettstown. A second factory was opened in Cleveland, Tennessee, in 1978.^[11] Today, about half of the production of M&M’s occurs at the New Jersey factory, and half at the Tennessee factory.^[12]

In 1949, the brand introduced the tagline «Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.»^[13]

In 1950, a black «M» was imprinted on the candies giving them a unique trademark. It was changed to white in 1954.^[8]

In the early 1950s, the Midwest Research Institute (now MRIGlobal) in Kansas City, Missouri, worked on behalf of M&M’s to perfect a process whereby 3,300 pounds (1,500 kg) of chocolate centers could be coated every hour.^[14]

Peanut M&M’s were introduced in 1954 but first appeared^[15] only in the color tan. In 1960, M&M’s added the yellow, red, and green colors.^[16]

In 1976, the color orange was added to the mix to replace red, which was discontinued in response to the «red dye scare» over Red Dyes #2 and #4 having been evaluated to be carcinogenic in nature. Although M&M’s were made with the less controversial Red Dye #40, the public was wary of any food being dyed red. Red M&M’s were re-introduced in 1987.
^[13][17]

1980s

In the 1980s, M&M’s were introduced internationally to Australia, Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom.^[18]

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.

Although they were marketed and then withdrawn in the 1960s, almond-centred M&M’s were available again in 1988 in limited release, with appearances only during Christmas and Easter times; they became a standard part of the product line in 1992.

Also in 1986, M&M’s launched Holidays Chocolate Candies for Easter and Christmas, with the Easter candies having a bunny, chick, and egg symbols on pastel-colored shells, and the Christmas candies having pine tree, bell, and candle symbols on red and green shells; with the latter also having a special mint flavor. By 1993, the holiday symbols were replaced with the standard trademark «M».

1990s

In 1991, Peanut Butter M&M’s were released. These candies have peanut butter inside the chocolate shell and the same color scheme as the other varieties. 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.^[19]

During the 1990s, Europe first began to adopt the M&M’s brand name, replacing existing products. Two of these were known as «Treats» and «Bonitos.»^{[citation needed]} In 1996, Mars introduced «M&M’s Minis», smaller candies usually sold in plastic tubes instead of bags.^[20] In 1999, Crispy M&M’s were released. They were slightly larger than the milk chocolate variety and also featured a crispy wafer center. They were discontinued in the United States in 2005 and remained available in Europe, and Southeast Asia. In January 2015, they returned to production in the United States.

2000s

In July 2001, dulce de leche M&M’s were introduced in five markets with large Hispanic populations: Los Angeles, California; San Diego, California; Miami, Florida; McAllen-Brownsville, Texas; and San Antonio, Texas.^[21] The flavor never became popular with the Hispanic community, who preferred existing M&M’s flavors, and it was discontinued in most areas by early 2003.^[22]

2010s

In 2010, Pretzel M&M’s were released. They contain a crunchy, salty pretzel center inside of the chocolate coating and are about the same size as the Peanut M&M’s, but their shape tends to be more spherical.^[23]

In 2013, the M&M’s chocolate bar was re-released. It was originally released in 2004 and named M-Azing.^[24]

In 2014, Mega M&M’s were re-introduced. Before then, the ‘Mega M&M’s’ had been released in 2007 promoting the Shrek films, being dubbed «Ogre-Sized M&M’s».^[25]

In 2015, Crispy M&M’s were re-introduced in the United States. They had remained available continuously in Europe and Australia.^[26]

In 2016, the M&M cookie was re-introduced in the United States.

Also in 2016, the M&M’s flavor vote was created in which the fans could vote for either Honey Nut, Coffee Nut, or Chili Nut M&M’s. Coffee Nut was announced as the winner by Tony Hale.^[27]

In April 2017, M&M’s chocolate blocks went on sale in Australia. Six varieties (milk chocolate, strawberry, crispy, hazelnut, crispy mint and almond) are available.^[28]

Also in 2017, Caramel M&M’s were released in the United States.^[29]

In 2019, the M&M’s flavor vote cast three new flavors: English Toffee, Mexican Jalapeño, and Thai Coconut, with English Toffee winning.^[30][31]

Also in 2019, Hazelnut Spread M&M’s were released in the United States.^[32]

2020s

In 2020, Fudge Brownie M&M’s were released in the United States.

On September 28, 2022, the introduction of purple M&M’s were announced, as well as their newest spokescandy, Purple.

Marketing

Over the years, marketing has helped build and expand the M&M’s brand. Computer-animated graphics, personification of the candies 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 M&M’s in the new Steven Spielberg film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. However, competitor Hershey took a chance with their Reese’s Pieces, which is similar to M&M’s but contains a peanut butter filling. With the film’s blockbuster success, Reese’s Pieces sales dramatically increased, perhaps by as much as 300%.^[33][34]

Marketing campaigns

Between 1982 and 1987, its slogan was «All the World Loves M&M’s», accompanied by a TV jingle of the same name. Actor Joel Higgins, then co-starring in the NBC-TV sitcom Silver Spoons, co-wrote the song.^[35]

In 1990, M&M’s exhibited at New York’s Erie County Fair 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 and WABC-TV, and Live with Regis.^[36]

In 1995, the company ran the 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 M&M’s. The announcement of the winning color (blue) was carried on most of the television networks’ news programs, as well as the talk shows of David Letterman and Jay Leno.^[37] As part of the contest results, the company had the Empire State Building lighted in blue.^[37] Although the financial details of these deals were not disclosed and neither was the campaign’s effect on sales, one marketing book estimated that the company «collected millions» in free publicity and that the campaign «certainly» resulted in an increasing of the brand’s awareness.^[37]

In 1996, Mars produced Christmas-themed advertisement for the candies 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 that year, becoming their longest-running television commercial.

In 1998, M&M’s were styled as «The Official Candy of the New Millennium», as MM is the Roman numeral for 2000. This date was also the release of the rainbow M&M’s, which are multi-colored and filled with a variety of different fillings.

In 2000, «Plain» M&M’s (a name created in 1954 when «Peanut» M&M’s were introduced) were renamed «Milk Chocolate» M&M’s, and pictures of the candy pieces were added to the traditional brown and white packaging.^[38]

In 2004, M&M’s adopted the 1967 Petula Clark song «Colour My World» for its TV ads, albeit using newly recorded versions with other singers.^[39]

Joint marketing campaigns

In 1990, Mars Snackfood US signed up to be a sponsor for NASCAR in the NASCAR Cup Series. Drivers for the M&M’s-sponsored car through the years have included Ernie Irvan (1999), Ken Schrader (2000–02), Elliott Sadler (2003–06), Ricky Rudd (2007), David Gilliland (2006–07), Kyle Busch (2008–current, won 2015 Sprint Cup Series Championship & 2019 Monster Energy Cup Series Championship), Michael McDowell, Matt Crafton, Erik Jones and David Ragan. 2022 would be Mars final year as Busch’s sponsor. Mars has also sponsored Busch in the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series along with Busch’s team, Kyle Busch Motorsports. Mars sponsored the 2022 NASCAR Cup Race at Pocono, titled the “M&M’s Fan Appreciation 400”.

The introduction of the blue M&M to Australia was promoted by the Australian Football League’s Carlton Football Club, which wore sky-blue colored guernseys in one of its matches in 1997 instead of its traditional navy blue – a color which the successful and fiercely traditional club had worn since the 1870s.^[40] In 2010, Mars Snackfood Australia described it as the most successful promotional campaign it had ever engaged in.^[41]

In April 2005, M&M’s 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 M&M’s commercials.

In May 2004, M&M’s ran a Shrek 2 promotion to tie in with the film’s release. M&M’s were offered «ogre-sized» (65% larger) 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 M&M’s» to the lineup.^[42] These candies, at 55% larger than the traditional M&M’s, were a little smaller than the ogre-sized version. They were available in Milk Chocolate and Peanut varieties. The colors for Mega M&M’s 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.

In July 2006, Dark Chocolate M&M’s reappeared in a purple package, followed in 2007 by Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M’s. Also in 2006, the company piloted White Chocolate M&M’s as a tie-in with their Pirates of the Caribbean promotion. The company also offered eight new flavors of M&M’s via online sales, as well as at M&M’s World locations: «All That Razz»; «Eat, Drink, & Be Cherry»; «A Day at the Peach»; «Orange-U-Glad»; «Mint Condition»; «AlmonDeeLicious»; «Nut What You Think»; and «Cookie Monster». Mars also released a «Crispy Mint» variety in Australia that year.

Also in 2006, M&M’s became the official chocolate of NASCAR.

In 2007, M&M’s introduced a limited-edition raspberry flavor called «M&M’s Razzberry Chocolate Candies».

Also in 2007, M&M’s produced a 50-foot, smiling Lady Liberty M&M statue to kick off a campaign encouraging Americans to create their own M&M characters at mms.com. The website allows for people to log in and create their own character from scratch. They can choose features such as the color, shape, hair, and accessories.

In 2008, two limited-edition varieties of the candy were introduced – «Wildly Cherry» M&M’s, and, as a marketing tie-in with the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, «Mint Crisp» M&M’s.

M&M’s also introduced another new product called «M&M’s Premiums» in 2008. They come in five flavors – chocolate almond, mint chocolate, mocha, raspberry almond, and triple chocolate (milk, dark, and white chocolate), which are sold in small upright cartons with a plastic bag inside. M&M’s Premiums do not have a candy shell, but are coated with carnauba wax and color. Dark chocolate was added in 2009, replacing mocha.

During the summer of 2008, My M&M’s launched ‘Faces,’ which allows consumers to print the faces of loved ones on M&M’s chocolate candies at mymms.com.

In February 2009, M&M’s launched the «M&M’s Colour Break-Up» promotion in Australia, where M&M’s were sold in separate packs (one for each color): the packs included a code to win prizes.^[43]

In summer 2009, M&M’s launched a limited-edition «Strawberried Peanut Butter» variant to tie in with the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. In addition, M&M’s launched a limited edition «Coconut M&M’s», which became a permanent item in 2010.

In early 2010, M&M’s Bare All were released as part of a competition in Australia and New Zealand.^[44][45] M&M’s Bare All winning packs were ordinary M&M’s, but without colored shells. An official website was launched, along with television advertisements.^[46][47] In April 2010, M&M’s launched a new Pretzel variety.^[23] In November 2011, Mars released a limited edition M&M’s Cinnamon Milk Chocolate for Christmas.^[48]

About the time Pretzel M&M’s came out, the M&M’s wrapper designs in the US were redone from the design used from 2004 to early 2010.^[23]

In 2012, M&M’s released two new Dark Chocolate flavors: Raspberry and Mint. Also that year, M&M’s released a White Chocolate flavor for the Easter season. From May 30, 2012, onwards, M&M’s will be launched in Macau. Its Macanese launch language is Portuguese. In 2012, Peanut M&M’s were produced in the UK in a limited edition «Red, White and Blues only» pack, in connection with the country’s Diamond Jubilee and 2012 Summer Olympics. The ‘M’ remains white on the white candies. The commercial advertising this promotional package had Yellow donning various outfits of British stereotypes to try to get into the limited edition pack. Similarly, to promote the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Peanut M&M’s were produced in a pack that contained only green, yellow, and blue candies, dubbed «Brazilian M&M’s» in reference to the colors of the flag of Brazil. «Brazilian M&M’s» were re-released in 2016 to promote the 2016 Summer Olympics, but are now available in both Chocolate and Peanut.

In 2013, M&M’s launched the «Better with M» campaign, which included cause-related marketing. The campaign worked with Habitat for Humanity and encouraged fans to use a Facebook app to volunteer at the various sites where the homes were being built.^[49] The advertising campaign was one of the largest that Mars had ever executed.^[49] The 2013 «America Better With M» initiative sought to provide money directly to Habitat for Humanity through offering limited versions of M&M’s in red, white and blue.

Since 1988, specially designed packages of red, white and blue Presidential M&M’s have been given as souvenirs to guests of the President of the United States. One side of the box features the presidential seal and the signature of the current president; the other side includes an M&M’s character flying the American flag. A common misconception is that every candy is stamped with the presidential seal; however, some U.S. embassies around the world do offer M&M’s stamped with the seal of the United States.

M&M’s World specialty shops have been established in some locations, including Las Vegas, Orlando, New York, London, and Shanghai.

Several M&Ms-themed video games have been created. The first was M&M’s The Lost Formulas, released on September 28, 2000.

Related brands

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

M&M’s characters

Early black-and-white adverts for the candy in 1954 featured two talking, anthropomorphic M&M characters—one plain and one peanut—diving into a swimming pool full of chocolate.^[50]

The first incarnation of the characters in CGI was a 1994 celebrity campaign which had the characters interacting with celebrities on which M&Ms candy color is their favorite. This campaign was created by Blue Sky Studios. Concurrent with 1995’s blue M&M campaign, M&M’s introduced second computer-animated «spokescandies» in their television commercials. The depiction and campaign of the M&M’s 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’s 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)^[51] who is the mascot for milk chocolate, peanut butter, and crispy M&M’s, and the happy and gullible Yellow (originally voiced by John Goodman, thereafter J.K. Simmons), who is the mascot for Peanut M&M’s (he was originally known as «Peanut» when first introduced). Other mascots include the «cool one», Blue (voiced by Robb Pruitt)^[52][53] who is the mascot for Almond M&M’s; the seductive Green (her personality is a reference to the 1970s urban legend that green M&Ms were aphrodisiacs)^[54] (voiced by Cree Summer and Larissa Murray),^[53] who is the mascot for both Dark Chocolate Mint and Peanut Butter M&M’s, and the slightly neurotic Orange (voiced by Eric Kirchberger), who was introduced when Crispy M&M’s were first released and returned when Pretzel M&M’s debuted in 2010. Orange, upon his return, was joined by the second non-M&M mascot, Pretzel Guy, who «supports» him and offers helpful advice as he hates the idea of having a pretzel put inside his body.

Other mascots that were introduced, but no longer used, are Almond, the original green guy; Orange, a female peanut character; Chocolate Bar (voiced by Phil Hartman),^[53] the first non-M&M character that always gets foiled or outdone by Red and Yellow by being melted, as M&M’s do not melt; and the Swarmees for M&M’s Minis candies, which are portrayed as destructive yet crafty troublemakers whom Red and Yellow are always trying unsuccessfully to contain.

Female M&M’s mascots were introduced in 1995. Green was the Milk Chocolate mascot and Tan was the Peanut. Marketing discontinued Tan when they introduced the then-new Blue mascot. Green was the only female M&M’s mascot from her introduction in 1995 until 2012 when M&M’s unveiled a new additional spokescandy, Ms. Brown (voiced by Miss America 1984, Vanessa Williams), the «Chief Chocolate Officer».^[55] She made her debut in a Super Bowl XLVI advertisement, where several people at a party assume she is naked because her shell is the same color as her insides, which causes Red to remove his outer shell saying «So, it’s that kind of party», and start dancing to the LMFAO song «Sexy And I Know It.»

During a Super Bowl LII advertisement, Red was transformed into a human after finding a lucky penny and wishing that he was inedible. As a human, he is portrayed by Danny DeVito.^[56] In January 2022, Mars announced plans to alter the design of the M&Ms characters. The company announced that the aim of this change was to make their characters more representative of a broader array of human personalities and personal backgrounds. Among these changes is the adoption of more casual clothing for the Green and Brown M&Ms, both of which are generally interpreted to be female characters.^[57] In September 2022 they introduced a new Purple M&M voiced by Amber Ruffin^[58] who first appeared in a commercial singing «I’m Just Gonna Be Me».^[59]

Color changes

The original colors of M&M’s candies were red, yellow, violet, green and brown.^[60] Violet was discontinued and replaced with tan in the late 1940s.

In 1976, Mars eliminated red-colored M&M’s^[61] because of health concerns over the dye amaranth (FD&C Red #2), which was a suspected carcinogen, and replaced them with orange M&M’s. This was done despite the fact that M&M’s did not contain the dye; the action was purely to satisfy worried consumers.^[13] Ten years later, Paul Hethmon, then a student at University of Tennessee, started a joke campaign to reinstate red M&M’s that would eventually become a worldwide phenomenon.^[62] Red M&M’s were reintroduced as a result, and the orange M&M’s that had originally replaced them were kept in production. In Europe, red M&M’s contain the red dye carmine (E120, cochineal).^[63]

In early 1995, Mars ran a promotion in which consumers were invited to vote on which of blue, pink, or purple would replace the tan M&M’s. Blue was the winner with 54% of the votes.^[64] It replaced tan in late 1995. 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 as Red and Yellow take notice of 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 the real blue M&M’s; another featured Red and Yellow holding their breath to look like the new blue M&M’s, where Steven Weber sees the three M&M’s, Red, Yellow, and Blue; and one more featuring Weber talking to the blue M&M if he had dived into the chocolate pool, but did not.

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. Purple won and was featured for a limited time. To help the colors get votes, Ken Schrader and his MB2 Motorsports team, who was sponsored by M&M’s 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). Specially marked packages of M&M’s were released in Japan. Finding a bag of all purple M&M’s entitled the customer to a prize of 100 million yen (equivalent to approximately US$852,000).

Since 2004, M&M’s have been available online in 17 colors, with personalized phrases on each candy on the opposite side from the «m».^[65] Released around Christmas, these custom-printed M&M’s were originally intended for holiday greetings, but are now available all year round.

For the 2008 Valentine’s Day season, Mars introduced all-green bags of M&M’s. This was due to common urban folklore that says green M&M’s are an aphrodisiac.^[66] They were brought back for 2009 alongside the «Ms. Green Heats Up Valentine’s Day» contest.

In October 2011, Mars released M&M’s White Chocolate Candy Corn exclusively in the United States for Halloween. These candies come in three candy corn inspired colors: white, bright yellow, and bright orange.

The following is a summary of the changes to the colors of the flagship (milk chocolate) flavor of M&M’s, the only filling manufactured continuously since the beginning of the brand. From 1941 until 1969, each package contained M&M’s in five different colors; when red M&M’s were reintroduced in 1987, they were added as a sixth color instead of replacing any of the existing colors.

See also

• Smarties
• Cadbury Gems
• Reese’s Pieces
• Sixlets
• Freia’s Non Stop
• Hershey-ets
• Jelly Bellies
• Skittles

References

External links

• Official website
• The History of M&M’s Chocolates from us.mms.com

Как появился M&M’s (4 фото)

Форрест Марс родился в 1904 году в Миннесоте, в семье Фрэнка Марса и Этель Киссэк, а после развода родителей рос в Канаде. Его отец вскоре вновь женился и в 1911 году начал свой бизнес по производству конфет на фабрике Mars Candy Factory в Такоме, штат Вашингтон.

В 1920-м компания переехала в Миннеаполис и сменила имя на MAR-O-BAR, а в 1923-м выпустила ставшие невероятно популярными батончики Milky Way. Вскоре компания сменила имя на Mars и переехала в Чикаго. Тем временем Форрест, окончив Калифорнийский университет в Беркли, а затем Йель, вернулся в отчий дом с дипломом инженера и характером бизнесмена, чтобы помочь отцу в управлении компанией.

Чтобы шоколад не плавился в местном жарком климате при хранении, испанские кондитеры покрывали его сахарной глазурью, и в таком виде его можно было брать в руки, не боясь испачкаться.

Форрест осознал, что подобные изделия имеют прекрасную перспективу. В то время кондиционеров в домах не было, и спрос на шоколад жарким летом существенно снижался (разумеется, производителям такое положение дел не нравилось). Поскольку Фрэнк Марс умер в 1934 году, а семейный бизнес контролировался его вдовой, с которой у Форреста были натянутые отношения, он обратился со своей идеей к Брюсу Мюрри, сыну президента другого шоколадного гиганта — Hershey Corporation. В результате было создано партнерство (в котором доля Форреста составила 80%), названное M&M Limited — от первых букв фамилий основателей (Марс и Мюрри).

Первый продукт (шоколадное драже) увидел свет в 1941 году, но в это время США вступили во Вторую мировую войну, и для производителей шоколада настали трудные времена (поставки сырья были ограничены). Однако военное ведомство включило драже M&M’s в состав солдатских рационов — и не последнюю роль в этом сыграла стойкость шоколада к жаркой погоде.

Партнёрство оказалось успешным, и по возвращении домой солдаты пели дифирамбы M&M’s. Хорошие отзывы помогли увеличить спрос и, соответственно, производство. По сей день драже M&M’s продолжает оставаться частью полевых пайков американских солдат.

Тем не менее, с ростом продаж возникла одна проблема. Мьюрри осознал, что чем больше прибыли получала компания, тем невыносимее становилось работать с Марсом. В конце концов, Марс стал настолько нетерпеливым и непреклонным, что Мьюрри пришлось заплатить один миллион долларов, чтобы избавиться от него.

Впоследствии Марс вернул компании название Mars и начал производить собственный шоколад.

В 1981 году конфеты M&M’s снова вошли в историю, когда были запущены на орбиту вместе с колумбийским космическим шаттлом, став первыми сладостями, которые оказались в космосе. Спустя три года они снова привлекли внимание общественности, когда их назвали официальным лакомством Олимпийских игр 1984 года в Лос-Анджелесе.

Популярность драже росла, но компания M&M не спешила вносить какие-либо изменения. Рецептура оставалась прежней, немного менялись только цвета и начинки.

Оригинальные конфеты M&M были просто шоколадными и имели коричневую, красную, оранжевую, жёлтую, зелёную и фиолетовую оболочку. Сегодня существуют десятки вкусов M&M: арахис, арахисовое масло, мята, карамель, крендель, праздничный торт и так далее.

Несмотря на то, что конфеты очень популярны, в особенности среди американцев, не так много известно о самом процессе их изготовления. Компания Mars Incorporated по-прежнему находится в частных руках, и о ней ходит немало слухов.

Легенда гласит, что однажды подрядчиков, которые должны были ремонтировать оборудование, вели по помещению с завязанными глазами, что руководители компании маскируются, чтобы провести встречи с конкурентами и аутсайдерами, что процесс принятия решений весьма беспощадный.

Судя по записям Франка Марса, даже банкиры, поддерживавшие компанию, не имели доступа к финансовой документации – традиция, которая сохраняется по сей день. По слухам, компания зарабатывает свыше 35 миллиардов долларов в год и стоит на 83 месте в списке Форбс.

Источник

Как пишется м энд эмс

В 1940-м году сын основателя компании Mars Форрест Марс изобрел драже M&M`s. Бизнесмен запатентовал собственный рецепт: шоколадные конфеты, покрытые слоем разноцветной сахарной глазури, которые не тают на солнце, не пачкают руки и одежду. Считается, что Марс позаимствовал эту идею у испанцев, которые во время гражданской войны ели шоколадные шарики, покрытые глазурью.

Вторая мировая война принесла конфетам популярность, в основном благодаря упаковке в виде цилиндра, которую американские солдаты носили с собой. С окончанием войны этот формат исчез, на смену ему пришли пакетики прямоугольной формы, которые бренд использует и по сей день. В 2000-х годах «цилиндры» вернулись, правда, ограниченным тиражом: драже в подобной упаковке можно было найти в магазинах Duty Free.

В 1960-е годы с запозданием был введен слоган «Тает во рту, а не в руках», а на конфетах впервые появилась чёрная буква «M». Продажи продукта в США начали расти бешеными темпами, и в 1980-х годах бренд, который стал для корпорации Mars основным, было решено вывести на другие рынки. В мире драже восприняли неплохо, но к 1995 году этот импульс угас, продажи начали падать.

Тогда руководство M&M’s обратилось в агентство BBDO New York с просьбой «оживить» бренд. За дело взялась Сюзан Кридл, которая тогда занимала пост креативного директора. Кридл призналась Business Insider, что тогда имидж ярких драже находился на уровне «простых конфет, которые можно было зацепить в проходе магазина».

Однако, от дорогостоящих исследований и долгих раздумий креативщиков спасла простая идея. Вместе со своей командой Сюзан Кридл придумала так называемый «комедийный ансамбль», который состоял из оживших конфет нескольких цветов: желтого, красного, синего, зеленого, коричневого и оранжевого.

Их красивая Зеленая подружка дебютировала на экранах чуть позже, в 1997 году, и снискала невероятный успех среди телезрителей. Об этой девочке Кридл рассказала забавную историю, из-за которой соблазнительница стала любимым персонажем креативного директора BBDO New York. На первых эскизах у красотки не было щиколоток, что нарушало сексуальный имидж героини, и креаторы долго спорили на предмет обуви Зеленой. В итоге Кридл пошла на Мэдисон-авеню и купила гоу-гоу-сапоги на высоком каблуке, которые спасли положение, «появившись» на Зеленой.

По словам Кридл, команда не могла предвидеть, насколько успешным может стать бренд после введения разноцветных героев. Команда представила персонажей во время Super Bowl наряду с другими знаковыми брендами, и ролик вызвал фурор у публики, которой полюбились забавные герои. Продукцию вновь начали расхватывать, и задача, поставленная перед BBDO New York, была выполнена.

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Шоколад ммдемс: виды и отзывы

Почти 80 лет эти конфеты радуют уже не одно поколение по всему миру. Они входили в рацион питания американских солдат, побывали в космосе, их обожают дети, взрослые и все сладкоежки. Рекламные ролики, похожие на короткометражные мультики, притягивают к экранам до сих пор. Интересно, что «прижившиеся» произношения по типу «шоколад ммдемс» или «mmdems» не совсем верны. Пишется правильно M&M’s, а произносится как «эм-энд-эмс». Не будем придираться к написанию. Пусть любители сладости произносят название как душе угодно. К слову, M&M’s – очень творческие ребята. О создании бренда, видах и вкусах, новинках продукции, отзывах – читайте ниже!

Как все началось

Идея придумать глазированные шоколадные конфеты-драже M&M’s принадлежит американскому предпринимателю Форресту Эдварду Марсу. Шоколадные батончики MilkyWay, Mars, Bounty, Twix – тоже его заслуга. Кондитерское производство основал еще его отец Фрэнк Марс. Дело начали всей семьей на собственной домашней кухне, где прямо из окна велась торговля. Предприимчивый отец придумал оборачивать конфеты в фольгу, чего до него не было. Весь шоколад тогда продавали на развес. С этой задумкой он не прогадал. Родители предпочитали брать детям обернутые конфеты. Производство шло в гору. Однако противоречия в характерах отца и сына привели к размолвке. Поссорившись с отцом, Форрест покинул Штаты, отказавшись участвовать в семейном деле. В 1932 году он уехал в Англию, где основал свой шоколадный бизнес. Отец и сын успешно развивали собственные независимые кондитерские компании.

После смерти Фрэнка в 1934 году, все перешло Форресту, объединившись в Империю Марс. Шоколадный батончик Mars был первым продуктом, который выпустил Форрест, обосновавшись в Англии. О его маркетинговых качествах впору слагать легенды. В то время англичане считали трату денег на удовольствие (покупку сладости) пустым делом. Однако Форрест хитро обошел это убеждение. В рекламе батончика Mars делался упор на заряд бодрости, снятие усталости («это не сладость – это еда!»), шоколадка была подобием лекарства для восполнения сил. В итоге покупки росли на ура.

M&M’s – конфеты с не менее интересной историей (или легендой, кто знает?). Форрест посетил Испанию в 1937 г., когда там шла гражданская война. Наблюдая за солдатами, он увидел у них шоколадные драже в сладкой оболочке. Солдаты ели лакомство, которое не таяло в жару из-за защитной глазури. Форрест решил, что такая практичная задумка была бы интересной и на родине. Дети, обожающие шоколад, могли бы сколько угодно держать его в руках и не пачкаться. Для реализации идеи Марсу были нужны вложения. Он привлекает Уильяма Мьюрри – партнера, оказавшего финансовую поддержку, и патентует рецепт шоколадных конфет в разноцветной сахарной глазури. Так появился бренд M&M’s (Марс и Мьюрри). Эти разноцветные драже были настолько популярны во Вторую мировую войну, что попали в рацион американских солдат.

До 1948 года их выпускали в цилиндрической упаковке, а затем в прямоугольных пакетиках. Знаменитая фраза «Тает во рту, а не в руках» появляется в 1950-х годах. Форрест развивает бренд, удачно экспериментируя со вкусами, и выводит его на мировой рынок. К 1980 году разноцветное шоколадное драже становится основным продуктом корпорации Марс. Так продолжалось до 1995 года, когда продажи вдруг пошли на спад.

Новое дыхание: живые MMDEMS покоряют мир

Поднять имидж, и продажи удалось СюзанКридл – креативному директору рекламного агентства BBDONY. Она создает живых разноцветных героев со своими характерами. Первыми появляются саркастический, ворчливый Красный из молочного шоколада и простой добряк Желтый из арахиса в шоколаде. Затем добавляют второстепенных персонажей. Пугливый Оранжевый рекламирует конфеты с лесным орехом. За добавление Синего, «крутого парня в очках», проголосовало более 10 млн любителей бренда. Он рекламировал мятную конфету mmdems. Соблазнительница Зеленая, конфета с миндалем, дебютировала в 1997 г. и очень полюбилась публике.

С появлением живых персонажей бренд выходит на российский рынок. В 1995 году открывают первый завод в подмосковном Ступине (к настоящему времени их уже 10). Все помнят новогодний рекламный ролик, когда Санта-Клаус столкнулся с Красным и Желтым. Не веря в существование друг друга, Санта вместе с Красным от удивления потеряли сознание. Ролик показывали на протяжении 20 лет с 1996 года, настолько он полюбился нашему зрителю. Потом сняли продолжение этой истории, где Желтый решает дарить подарки сам. Напутав адреса, он все же справляется с ситуацией и дарит Праздник получателям.

Шагать в ногу со временем стало традицией бренда. Рекламные слоганы «Тает во рту, а не в жару» и «Ищите М на каждой штучке» уступают место новым. «В любом месте веселее вместе» – так в 2000-х где только не появлялись Красный с Желтым (наслаждаться mmdems можно везде). В рекламных роликах акцент был на веселых моментах вместе с M&M’s (конфеты несут радость в жизнь). Появляется новая упаковка – «большой эмемдемс», которой хватит на всех. В 2018 году в поддержку ЧМ по футболу выпускают конфеты с соленым арахисом (есть только в нашей стране). В настоящее время больше 100 стран продают эти знаменитые разноцветные драже.

Виды, вкусы и новинки

Бренд выпускает несколько видов шоколадных изделий. Это привычные всем конфеты-драже, а также шоколадные плитки, пасты, коктейли, мороженое. Есть даже музыкальное яйцо-сюрприз для детей. Ассортимент постоянно расширяется, появляются новые вкусы в оригинальных упаковках. Остановимся на самых популярных эмэндэмс.

Драже

Тот самый первый классический вкус, не меняющийся с момента создания (меняется только дизайн упаковки). Каждое драже – это хрустящая цветная глазурь с молочным шоколадом внутри, что «тает во рту». Осталось выбрать упаковку по размеру! На выбор: 45г, 70г, 130г, 240г и 360г. Ценовой диапазон: 30-250 р. (маленький – большой эмэмдэмс). Не рекомендовано к продаже детям младше 14 лет.

Веселая упаковка, которую представляет Желтый. Каждое разноцветное драже – это цельный прожаренный орех высокого качества, покрытый слоем молочного шоколада и сахарной глазури сверху. Все гармонично сочетается. Объемы упаковок те же, что и в классическом варианте. Цена немного выше. За большую упаковку в 360г придется заплатить около 300 рублей. Ограничительные рекомендации по возрасту едины для всех шоколадок mms – до 14 лет.

Приятная синяя упаковка, уже привычные 6 цветов драже. Внутри под слоем глазури и молочного шоколада – хрустящий шарик («сrispy» с англ. значит «хрустящий»). В его составе – фрукты и ягоды. Есть упаковки по 36г, 110г, 220г. Цена такая же, как у классического варианта.

Эти три вкусовых разновидности драже вы найдете практически в любом продуктовом магазине, их производят наши заводы. Те вкусы, которые выпускают за рубежом, придется поискать (DutyFree, или заказать по интернету).

Шоколадная плитка

Для нашего рынка это молодой продукт mms – выпускается с 2019 года. Компания Mars уже успешно реализовала его в Австралии. Большая упаковка шоколада весом 122-125г с традиционными драже-конфетами внутри и несколькими вкусами:

Цены выше средних и приблизительно одинаковые на все вкусы. За упаковку приготовьтесь отдать 130-170 рублей.

Внимание! Новинки продукции:

Та самая «криспи» из линейки, которую выпустили эксклюзивно для «Магнита» самой последней. Сладкий молочный шоколад с множеством воздушных рисовых шариков и драже внутри. Приятную синюю упаковку представляет пугливый Оранжевый, которому теперь придется растаять в руках.

Молочное светло-кремового цвета эскимо, покрытое шоколадной глазурью с кусочками измельченного цветного драже. Внутри – прослойки шоколадного топпинга. За 61г удовольствия придется отдать около 100 рублей. Линейка мороженого mms в нашей стране была выпущена еще в 2018 году. Первые варианты – «С арахисом», «С шоколадом», а год спустя появились «Ваниль» и «Карамель».

Отличается составом внутри – в молочном мороженом прослойки нежной карамели. Все сверху покрыто темной глазурью с измельченным драже и кусочками арахиса. Вес и цена не отличаются от варианта с ванилью.

Зарубежные новинки

Под слоем молочного шоколада с кофейным вкусом находится цельный орех. Очень гармоничное сочетание. Цветовая гамма драже более спокойная с преобладанием коричневых тонов. Производят в США, у нас можно купить, сделав заказ по интернету в специализированных магазинах («Мармеладница», «Сладкие Сладости», «Мармелад Шоу» и др.). За упаковку 92г приготовьтесь заплатить около 300 рублей.

Еще одна яркая американская новинка. Розовая упаковка, внутри которой покрытые клубничной глазурью орешки. Любимый детский десерт. Упаковка 92г стоит 290 рублей.

Ограниченная серия, которая быстро стала популярной и в странах Европы (ее выпускают в Польше, Великобритании). Есть упаковка 36г и 80г. Несмотря на лимитированный выпуск, новинка не уходит с производства уже год. «Виной» тому необычный, но очень гармоничный вкус. Внутри – мягкая карамель, покрытая молочным шоколадом и глазурью. Соль не дает сладости стать приторной. Цена за 80г – около 300 рублей.

Состав

Это обратная сторона медали любой сладости бренда. Без Е-добавок нет ни одного лакомства. Разберем на примере классических драже mms с молочным шоколадом.

Содержание какао в нем невелико – около 27%. Присутствуют все составные компоненты молочного шоколада: какао тертое, какао масло, сухое молоко, сахар и лецитин. Добавлен ванилин для аромата. Наличие крахмала снижает качество продукта, но не несет прямого вреда здоровью.

Внимание! Что же в составе вызывает опасения:

Е171 – диоксид титана, белый краситель, который используется также в лакокрасочной промышленности;

Е104 – синтетический краситель желтого цвета (хинолиновый желтый). Провоцирует гиперактивность детей, вызывает аллергию. Запрещен в нескольких странах (Японии, Штатах, Норвегии);

Е129 – синтетический красный краситель, продукт переработки нефти. На почве красного цвета драже в 70-х годах разгорелся скандал. Тогда использовали другой краситель – Е123 (Амарант). Американские исследования в 1976 году подтвердили его онкогенное и тератогенное действие на крысах. На несколько лет красные глазированные конфеты исчезли из состава, пока не нашли более безопасный Е129. Однако он тоже запрещен в крупных европейских странах;

Е122 – краситель красного оттенка «Азорубин». Исследования показали, что он способен снижать концентрацию внимания и вызывать гиперактивность у детей. Аллергикам лучше воздержаться от употребления содержащих его продуктов;

Е124 – пунцовый синтетический краситель. В Америке и нескольких странах Евросоюза он запрещен (считается сильным аллергеном, обладает канцерогенными свойствами);

Е133 – синий краситель, практически не всасывается в желудочно-кишечном тракте, но способен вызывать аллергию;

Е110, Е102 – желтые красители. Оба могут влиять на концентрацию внимания и вызывать аллергию.

Стоит задуматься и о калорийности продукта. В 100г содержится 481 ккал, что довольно много (белков 4.3г, жиров 19.2г, углеводов 71.5г). Не страшно, если вы спортсмен, а вот ленивым сладкоежкам злоупотреблять лакомством не стоит.

Внимание! Детям рекомендовано употреблять эту сладость только после 13 лет.

Отзывы

Шоколад ммдемс любят покупатели. Многие покупают его регулярно, другие – редко, придаваясь воспоминаниям детства. «Сладость из 90-х», «очаровательные мультяшки», «невероятно вкусно» – так характеризуют разные продукты бренда. Из вкусов на первом месте стоят варианты с арахисом (с миндалем или фундуком в шоколадной плитке), на втором – классический молочный шоколад, а затем «криспи». Есть и негативные отзывы. Что же не понравилось покупателям:

Любители кулинарного творчества с успехом используют драже для украшения тортов, пекут с ними печенье и капкейки.

Эти конфеты способны поднять настроение, зарядить энергией и сделать день чуточку счастливее. Добавить жизни краски, вспомнить детство, улыбнуться – попробуйте, оно того стоит!

Автор: Юлия Татаринова специально для сайта Шоколад.Тудей

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