Tiny candy, big plans: M&M’s looking to future
Changes are in store for the millions of colorful, bitesize chocolates that come pouring off conveyor belts at a factory here every day.
M&M’s have been one of America’s most recognizable candies for decades. Now, as the brand turned 75 Thursday, it is rolling out a strategy aimed at keeping the chocolates relevant for a new generation of snackers.
Some will be obvious, such as new colors, flavors, textures and fillings, or new package designs made for on-the-go eating. Others will be more subtle, such as transitioning to natural, rather than ar- tificial, colors over the next five years.
“That’s the beauty of this brand,” says Tracey Massey, president of Mars North America, which owns the M&M’s brand. “You can really innovate all over the place.” And that kind of flexibility may be what helps M&M’s stay on top at a time when many shoppers are cutting back on sugary treats.
Change is seen as essential. Americans have drastically altered their diet preferences since M&M’s were first produced in 1941, forcing companies like Mars to rapidly innovate or risk fading into history.
Standing in the brand’s corner as it eyes the next 75 years is M&M’s widespread recognition and loyal customer base. Plus, Mars continues to invest in factories as it considers M&M’s expansion. A new factory, like the one here in New Jersey, was built in Topeka in 2014 to produce peanut M&M’s and Snickers. There are plans to start running another factory line there for M&M’s next year “to help us with the innovation pipeline,” Massey said.
M&M’s grew out of necessity when the military requested Mars make chocolate for the troops at the start of World War II. The candy’s hard exterior meant the chocolate didn’t melt and was ideally suited for overseas travel. When the war ended, soldiers were still clamoring for the tiny treats, and Mars began selling them to regular customers in 1947.
Mars is marking M&M’s 75th by kicking off the biggest marketing campaign ever for the tiny candies, aiming to cement itself in the hearts— and wallets— of American customers for at least another 75 years.
Last week, the company unveiled an ad featuring an updated version of the song Candyman. Starting this month, customers will see peanut and regular M&M’s travel back in time with retro packaging from the 1940s through the 1990s.