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{{Short description|Brand of chocolate candy}}
{{About|the candy|other uses|M&M (disambiguation){{!}}M&M}}
{{Distinguish|Eminem}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{infobox brand
| name = M&M
| logo = M&M's 2022.svg
| logo_size = 210
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| related = [[Galaxy Minstrels|Minstrels]], [[Revels (confectionery)|Revels]], [[Treets]] <!-- similar products from the same company -->
| origin = [[United States]]
| markets = Worldwide (
| currentowner = [[Mars Inc.]]
| trademarkregistrations =
| website = {{url|mms.com}}
}}
[[File:1941mandms.jpeg|thumb|right|[[
[[File:M&m2.jpg|thumb|Peanut M&M's have a different shape.]]▼
'''M&M's'''
The original
A traditional milk chocolate M&M weighs
== History ==
===1940–70s: Beginnings===▼
▲=== 1940–70s: Beginnings ===
▲[[File:1941mandms.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Milk Chocolate]] M&M's were introduced in 1941.]]
In the 1930s, [[Forrest Mars Sr.]], son of the Mars Company founder, [[Franklin Clarence Mars]], saw soldiers in the [[Spanish Civil War]] eating
▲In the 1930s, [[Forrest Mars Sr.]], son of the Mars Company founder, [[Franklin Clarence Mars]], saw soldiers in the [[Spanish Civil War]] eating British-made [[Smarties]]. These are 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.<ref name="ForrestMarsSr">{{cite web|url=http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/mars.html |title=Inventor of the Week: Forrest Mars, Sr. |website=Lemelson-MIT Program |date=March 10, 2005 |access-date=July 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050310105331/http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/mars.html |archive-date=March 10, 2005 }}</ref>
[[Nestlé]] archives
▲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.<ref name="virtualnewarknj.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.virtualnewarknj.com/memories/newark/bodianmm.htm |title=Looking Back at Newark Origins of World-Famous M&M Chocolates |website=Old Newark Memories |date=April 12, 1981 |access-date=February 21, 2013 |author1=Bodian, Nat |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019111110/http://virtualnewarknj.com/memories/newark/bodianmm.htm |archive-date=October 19, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The two Ms represent the names of Forrest E. Mars Sr. and Bruce Murrie, the son of the [[The Hershey Company|Hershey Chocolate]]'s president, William F. R. Murrie, who had a 20 percent share in the product.<ref name="MurrieArchive">{{cite web |title=William F.R. Murrie, 1873-1950 |url=https://hersheyarchives.org/encyclopedia/murrie-william-f-r-1873-1950/ |website=Hershey Community Archives |publisher=The M.S. Hershey Foundation |access-date=January 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420200840/https://hersheyarchives.org/encyclopedia/murrie-william-f-r-1873-1950/ |archive-date=April 20, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> The arrangement allowed the candies to be made with Hershey chocolate, as Hershey had control of the [[ration]]ed chocolate at the time.<ref name="ForrestMarsSr" />
[[File:M&M-with-mm-ruler.jpg|thumb|left|
▲[[Nestlé]] archives show<ref name="mashed/smarties-mms">{{cite web |last1=Crossan |first1=Anna |title=The Unlikely Similarity Between Smarties And M&M's |url=https://www.mashed.com/1281792/unlikely-similarity-between-smarties-m-ms/ |website=Mashed |access-date=1 November 2023 |date=13 May 2023}}</ref> that George Harris of Rowntree and Forrest Mars Sr. agreed, after much negotiation, to share the marketplace rather than compete, with Rowntree making Mars Bars in Canada, Erie and South Africa and with Mars making M&M's in America without competition from Smarties, and Rowntree did not attempt to sue Mars for stealing their concept.<ref name="thevintagenews/mm-smarties">{{cite web |last1=Smee |first1=Taryn |title=Candy Wars: Did M&M's Steal their Concept from Smarties? |url=https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/08/08/mm-vs-smarties/ |website=The Vintage News |access-date=1 November 2023 |language=en |date=8 August 2018}}</ref>
The company's first big customer was the [[United States Army|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.virtualnewarknj.com/memories/newark/bodianmm.htm |title=Looking Back at Newark Origins of World-Famous M&M Chocolates – virtualnewarknj.com – Retrieved August 28, 2008 |website=Virtual.com |date=April 12, 1981 |access-date=January 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716153908/http://www.virtualnewarknj.com/memories/newark/bodianmm.htm |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The resulting demand caused an increase in production and the company moved its factory to bigger quarters at 200 North
[[File:Mandmpenaut.jpg|thumb|A [[peanut]] variety was introduced in 1954]]
A peanut variety was introduced in 1954 and appeared only in the color tan.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7-WcKK01H1cC&q=peanut+m&pg=PR54|title=Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to Eat|last=Smith|first=Andrew F.|date=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9780313393938|language=en}}</ref> In 1960, the company added the yellow, red, and green colors.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/MMS-show-their-true-colors/80061079017251/ |title=M&M's show their true colors|date=March 11, 2004 |access-date=April 8, 2019}}</ref>
▲[[File:M&M-with-mm-ruler.jpg|thumb|left|Orange M&M's chocolate candy in cross-section with [[millimeter]] ruler for scale. Shows layers of [[Sugar panning|hard-panned]] coating.]]
▲The company's first big customer was the [[United States Army|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.virtualnewarknj.com/memories/newark/bodianmm.htm |title=Looking Back at Newark Origins of World-Famous M&M Chocolates – virtualnewarknj.com – Retrieved August 28, 2008 |website=Virtual.com |date=April 12, 1981 |access-date=January 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716153908/http://www.virtualnewarknj.com/memories/newark/bodianmm.htm |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The resulting demand caused an increase in production and the company moved its factory to bigger quarters at 200 North 12th Street in [[Newark, New Jersey]]. In 1958, it moved to a bigger factory at [[Hackettstown, New Jersey|Hackettstown]]. A second factory was opened in [[Cleveland, Tennessee]], in 1978.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mincey|first=Allen|date=March 4, 2016|title=Mars Chocolate North America celebrates 'Big 7-5' of M&M's|url=http://clevelandbanner.com/stories/mars-chocolate-north-americacelebrates-big-7-5-of-mms,29186|work=[[Cleveland Daily Banner]]|___location=Cleveland, Tennessee|access-date=June 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630105317/http://clevelandbanner.com/stories/mars-chocolate-north-americacelebrates-big-7-5-of-mms,29186|archive-date=June 30, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Today, about half of the production of M&M's occurs at the New Jersey factory, and half at the Tennessee factory.<ref>{{cite news|last=Warnke|first=Kyle|date=August 12, 2016|title=M&M's and Twix are Made in Tennessee|url=http://www.wvlt.tv/content/news/MMs-and-Twix-are-Made-in-Tennessee--389973792.html|publisher=[[WVLT-TV]]|___location=Knoxville, Tennessee|access-date=June 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630105510/http://www.wvlt.tv/content/news/MMs-and-Twix-are-Made-in-Tennessee--389973792.html|archive-date=June 30, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
▲[[File:Mandmpenaut.jpg|thumb|[[Peanut]] M&M's were introduced in 1954.]]In 1949, the brand introduced the tagline "The milk chocolate that melts in your mouth, not in your hand."<ref name="Smith">{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Andrew F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o7gxBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA536 |title=Food and Drink in American History: A "Full Course" Encyclopedia: A "Full Course" Encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-6106-9233-5 |volume=3 |pages=536}}</ref> In 1950, a black "M" was imprinted on the candies giving them a unique trademark. It was changed to white in 1954.<ref name="virtualnewarknj.com" /> 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 {{convert|3300|lb}} of chocolate centers could be coated every hour.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mriresearch.org/AboutMRI/Breakthroughs.asp |title=MRI Breakthroughs |website=Mriresearch.org |date=September 11, 2001 |access-date=January 15, 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080702054645/http://www.mriresearch.org/AboutMRI/Breakthroughs.asp |archive-date = July 2, 2008}}</ref> Peanut M&M's were introduced in 1954 but first appeared<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7-WcKK01H1cC&q=peanut+m&pg=PR54|title=Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to Eat|last=Smith|first=Andrew F.|date=2012|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9780313393938|language=en}}</ref> only in the color tan. In 1960, M&M's added the yellow, red, and green colors.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/MMS-show-their-true-colors/80061079017251/ |title=M&M's show their true colors|date=March 11, 2004 |access-date=April 8, 2019}}</ref>
In the 1960s, an almond-centered variety was marketed and then withdrawn until a later reintroduction twenty years later.
In 1976, the color orange was added to the mix to replace red, which was discontinued in response to the "red dye scare" over [[Amaranth (dye)|Red Dyes #2]] and [[Carmine|#4]] having been evaluated as [[Carcinogen|carcinogenic]]. Although M&M's were made with the less controversial [[Allura Red AC|Red Dye #40]], the public was wary of any food being dyed red. Red M&M's were re-introduced in 1987.<ref name="Smith" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livescience.com/33017-why-were-red-mms-discontinued-for-a-decade.html|title=Why Were Red M&M's Discontinued for a Decade? LiveScience.|first=Remy|last=Melina|website=[[Live Science]] |date=February 10, 2011|access-date=May 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523100159/https://www.livescience.com/33017-why-were-red-mms-discontinued-for-a-decade.html|archive-date=May 23, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>▼
▲In 1976, the color orange was added to the mix to replace red, which was discontinued in response to the "red dye scare" over [[Amaranth (dye)|Red Dyes #2]] and [[Carmine|#4]] having been evaluated as [[Carcinogen|carcinogenic]]. Although the M&M's confections were made with the less controversial [[Allura Red AC|Red Dye #40]], the public was wary of any food being dyed red.
===1980s: Expanding internationally===▼
In the 1980s, M&M's were introduced internationally to Australia, Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mms.com/us/about/mmshistory/ |title=M&M'S About M&MS: History |website=Mms.com |date=October 6, 2010 |access-date=November 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121124062134/http://mms.com/us/about/mmshistory/ |archive-date=November 24, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>▼
▲=== 1980s: Expanding internationally ===
▲In the 1980s,
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: New flavors ring ===
In 1991, the Peanut Butter
During the 1990s, Europe first began to adopt the M&M's brand name, replacing existing products. Two of these products were known as "
=== 2000s–present: New flavors and re-releases ===
In July 2001, the [[dulce de leche]]
Several other
A range of additional products was launched in the 2000s and 2010s to expand beyond the traditional line of candies. A chocolate bar called the [[M-Azing]] was initially released in 2004, and subsequently relaunched in 2013,<ref name="AdAge2006">{{cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Stephanie |title=Mars to Scale Back M-Azing Brand |url=https://adage.com/article/news/mars-scale-back-m-azing-brand/112718 |website=Advertising Age |publisher=Crain Communications |access-date=August 15, 2019 |date=October 26, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531132123/https://adage.com/article/news/mars-scale-back-m-azing-brand/112718 |archive-date=May 31, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> oversized
In 2020, a Fudge Brownie
On September 28, 2022, the introduction of a purple
== Marketing ==
Over the years, marketing has helped build and expand the M&M's brand. Computer-animated graphics, personification of the
In 1982, the [[Mars, Incorporated|Mars]] candy bar company rejected the inclusion of
=== Marketing campaigns ===
Between 1982 and 1987,
In 1990
In 1995, the company ran
In 1996, Mars produced Christmas-themed advertisement for the
In 2000, the "Plain"
In 2004,
=== Joint marketing campaigns ===
In 1990, Mars Snackfood US signed up to be a sponsor for [[NASCAR]] in the [[NASCAR Cup Series]].
The introduction of the blue M&M to Australia was promoted by the [[Australian Football League]]'s [[Carlton Football Club]]
In April 2005,
▲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.
[[File:M&M's London Soho store.jpg|thumb|[[M&M's World]] London]]
In May 2004,
[[File:MandM Times Square.JPG|left|thumb|220px|Outside of [[M&M's World]] in [[Times Square]], [[New York City]]]]
In July 2006,
[[File:Kyle Busch, 2013 STP Gas Booster 500.JPG|thumb|right|The
In 2007,
Also in 2007,
In 2008, two limited-edition varieties of the
During the summer of 2008,
In February 2009,
In summer 2009,
[[File:M&M's World Las Vegas.jpg|right|thumb|224px|[[M&M's World]] on the [[Las Vegas Strip]]]]
In early 2010, M&M's "Bare All" were released as part of a competition in Australia and New Zealand.<ref name="FavoriteNude">{{cite web |last1=Liebig |first1=Jason |title=Nude M&M's?!? – A pair of my favorite Australian candy packages |url=http://www.collectingcandy.com/wordpress/?p=1518I |website=CollectingCandy.com |access-date= September 6, 2019 |date=February 28, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://m-msbareall.com| title=M&M's Bare All |website= m-msbareall.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100127202211/http://m-msbareall.com/ | date=January 27, 2010| archive-date=January 27, 2010}}</ref>
About the time
In 2012,
In 2013,
Since 1988, specially designed packages of red, white, and blue [[Presidential M&M's]] have been given as souvenirs to guests of
[[M&M's World]] specialty shops have been established in some locations, including Las Vegas, Orlando, New York, London, and Shanghai.
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Several [[List of M&M's video games|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
== M&M
[[File:M&M spokescandies.jpeg|thumb|500px|The seven [[cartoon]] "[[Spokesperson|spokescandies]]"
Early black-and-white
The first incarnation of the characters in CGI was a 1994 celebrity campaign
Other mascots
Female M&M
In January 2022, Mars announced plans to alter the design of the M&
Referencing criticism surrounding the changes from [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] media outlets, the company teased a [[Super Bowl LVII]] commercial in January 2023 by making a fictitious announcement that the characters were being temporarily retired and replaced by comedian [[Maya Rudolph]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Peyser |first=Eve |date=2023-01-27 |title=The M&M's Aren't Done With Us Yet |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/27/style/mms-maya-rudolph-super-bowl.html |access-date=2023-01-27 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="rudolph">{{cite web |last=Moye |first=David |date=January 23, 2023 |title=M&M's Ditches Spokescandies After 'Woke' Uproar, Introduces Maya Rudolph |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mms-dumps-spokescandies-maya-rudolph_n_63ceb72ee4b04d4d18e0949e |accessdate=January 23, 2023 |work=HuffPost}}</ref> In subsequent teasers leading up to the game, Rudolph was shown hijacking the M&M's brand in her own image, re-launching them as "Ma&Ya's" candy-coated [[Clam|clams]]. Concurrently, the
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="width:100%; text-align:center; padding:0 9px;"
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|-
!scope="row" style="background: #603A34; color: white; text-align:center;" | Ms. Brown
| Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, and Fudge Brownie
| {{ubl|[[Vanessa Williams]]}}
|-
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|}
== Color changes ==
The original 1941 colors of M&M
[[File:M & Ms (3685102458).jpg|left|thumb|240px|Transparent chutes hold M&Ms of various colors.]]▼
▲The original colors of M&M's candies were [[red]], [[yellow]], [[Violet (color)|violet]], [[green]] and [[Brown (color)|brown]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nww2m.com/2016/03/scitech-tuesday-wwii-and-the-invention-of-m-ms/|title=SciTech Tuesday: WWII and the Invention of M&Ms. – The National WWII Museum Blog|website=Nww2m.com|access-date=July 19, 2018|date=March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714170303/http://www.nww2m.com/2016/03/scitech-tuesday-wwii-and-the-invention-of-m-ms/|archive-date=July 14, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Violet was discontinued and replaced with [[tan (color)|tan]] in the late 1940s.
▲[[File:M & Ms (3685102458).jpg
In 1976, Mars eliminated red-colored M&M's<ref>{{cite web|url=http://us.mms.com/us/about/history/story/|title=The Story of M&M's Brand|access-date=June 14, 2008|work=mms.com|publisher=[[Mars, Incorporated]]|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080409043530/http://us.mms.com/us/about/history/story/ |archive-date = April 9, 2008}}</ref> because of health concerns over the dye [[amaranth (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.<ref name="Smith"/> 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.<ref>{{cite news▼
|title=The man who brought Red M&M's back to life▼
▲In 1976, Mars eliminated red-colored M&
|first=Jim
|last=Matheny
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|date=October 31, 2014
|access-date=February 12, 2021
|quote=1970s food dye scare eliminated red M&M's for more than a decade until a
|archive-date=December 24, 2020
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224190931/https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/18037477
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>
In Europe, red M& 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&
Tan was replaced in late 1995.
▲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.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/candymakingincan0000carr|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/candymakingincan0000carr/page/78 78]|quote=smarties tablet candy history.|title=Candymaking in Canada: The History and Business of Canada's Confectionery Industry|last=Carr|first=David|date=2003|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=9781550023954|language=en}}</ref> 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 (actor)|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: [[
Since 2004, M&
For the 2008 [[Valentine's Day]] season, Mars introduced all-green bags of M&
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
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</div>
== See also ==
{{Portal|United States|Food}}
* [[Cadbury]]
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* [[Jelly Belly]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website}}
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