M&M's

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Plain M&M's

M&M's are small, milk chocolate candy pieces popular in the United States and in many other countries around the world. They are produced by Mars Incorporated. M&M's have recognizable "spokescandies" which appear in comical commercials; the most popular of these are the team of cynical and sardonic "Red" and happy and gullible "Yellow".

M&M's were created in 1940 after Forrest Mars Sr. saw Spanish soldiers eating chocolate pellets coated in sugar during the Spanish Civil War. M&M's were first sold in America in 1941. By World War II, American soldiers were given the candy by the United States Army; soon after this it was marketed to the public. The candies were named for "Mars & Murrie" (Mars' business partner was Bruce Murrie, son of rival Milton S. Hershey's partner William Murrie.) M&M's soon became a hit because, in those times when air conditioning was not usually found in stores, homes, or the automobile, melting chocolate candy bars were a problem; but in M&M's, the candy's coating kept the chocolate from getting messy.

In 1954, M&M's Peanut Chocolate Candies were introduced. That same year, the M&M's brand characters and the famous slogan "The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand" were both trademarked.

The candies were originally made in six colors: red, orange, yellow, green, brown, and tan. (Peanut candies were made in the same colors, except tan.) Red was eliminated from the mix in the 1970s because of health concerns about the red dye amaranth (FD&C Red #2). Despite the fact that M&M's did not contain the dye, red M&M's were removed from the mix to satisfy worried consumers. By 1986, the public had forgotten the scare, and the red candies were reintroduced. They currently contain Allura red AC (FD&C Red #40).

In the United Kingdom Peanut M&M's were known as Treets until 1990. Additionally, Toffee Treets were also available for some time. The chocolate versions were not introduced until the brand became M&M's. This was partly to do with the market dominance of the similar candy Nestlé Smarties which made competing under anything but a very high profile brand difficult, with the added risk of reducing sales of the existing Treets brand.

In 1993, Mars ran a promotion in which consumers were invited to vote on which of blue, pink, or purple would be introduced. Blue was the winner, and was added in early 1994. The tan candies were eliminated at this time.

Around the same time, novelty M&M's were available in specialty stores, such as F.A.O. Schwarz, in 24 different colors.

In June 2004 M&M's gained unexpected notoriety as Mike Melvill, the pilot of SpaceShipOne the world's first manned private suborbital space flight, opened up a package of the chocolate brand when he reached the border of space (100km) in order to demonstrate weightlessness as the candy floated in the cabin.

The most popular (and the most common) M&M's are plain (milk chocolate) and peanut (with a layer of chocolate between the peanut and the candy shell). Several variations exist, but are harder to find: almond, crispy, peanut butter, mint chocolate, and dark chocolate.

Trivia

Steven Spielberg originally approached Mars with the idea of product placement of M&M's in his upcoming movie, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Mars declined the offer. Spielberg later approached the Hershey Chocolate Company with the idea to use Reese's Pieces instead. They agreed, and their sales tripled a week after the movie premiered.

The hard rock band Van Halen's now infamous contract rider called for, among other things, a bowl of M&M's backstage, but with provision that all the brown candies must be removed. According to snopes.com, "The M&M's provision was included in Van Halen's contracts not as an act of caprice, but because it served a practical purpose: to provide an easy way of determining whether the technical specifications of the contract had been thoroughly read (and complied with)."

External links

Categories: Confectionery