Sweet, milk chocolate drops in a colorful, crunchy shell. Ubiquitous and delightful, M&M’s candy has been part of American life for nearly 70 years. We all know they’re the chocolate that “melts in your mouth, not in your hand,” but how did M&M’s become such an essential American treat?
During the Spanish Civil War, candy marker Forrest Mars noticed soldiers eating a different type of chocolate, one that was coated with a hard sugary shell that prevented the morsels from melting and becoming sticky and hard to eat. Mars took this idea and developed the M&M’s we enjoy today. The candies hit the American market in 1941, and became a staple for GIs fighting in WWII. M&M’s were originally packaged not in the bag we know today, but in a cardboard tube; the bag was introduced in 1948. More developments to the brand occurred in the 1950s, when the first “m” trademark was printed on the candies. Peanut M&M’s were also introduced in the 1950s, along with the slogan “melts in your mouth, not in your hand.” In the 1960s, yellow, red, and green M&M’s were added to the original brown color, while it wasn’t until the 1976 when orange M&M’s were produced. In 1995 blue M&M’s were introduced. Since then, M&M’s have moved into the international spotlight, becoming a special treat in not only the United States, but also in Australia, Italy, Germany and Japan.
Today M&M’s can be customized and personalized with special colors, messages and even pictures. Customers can choose from over 10 varieties of the candy, including coconut, pretzel, and peanut butter.
Since their creation, M&M’s have become a symbol of American culture. M&M’s were declared the official snack of the 1984 Los Angles Olympics, and in 1998 the candy of the new millennium. Few candies have been so well known and loved throughout our history – why do you love M&M’s?