M&m history

In 1920, they decided to try again – moving to Minneapolis in Minnesota to found Mar-O-Bar Co and beginning to make and sell chocolate bars.

Later on, the company became Mars, Inc., and in 1923, Franklin’s son Forrest brought his father the idea of the Milky Way bar, which Franklin introduced to the company.

For a brief time during the time period of the 1930’s Forrest Mars.

In 1934, Franklin Mars died of heart problems, leaving his son Forrest the ownership of Mars, Inc.

The invention of the M&M was inspired by the British candy called Smarties made by the Rowntree company in 1937.

The very first M&M was introduced on September 10th, 1941.

In 1949, the brand introduced the tagline “Melt in your mouth, not in your hand,” and this led to a considerable increase in its sales because it delivered on a solid insight, especially from parents who did not like to see their children making a mess when eating chocolate.

The black M was not printed on the candies until 1950, offering an additional layer of branding for the candies.

Peanut M&Ms were added to the lineup in 1954 but were originally just made with a tan coating.

The logo’s color scheme was again changed to brown against a white background in 1971.

Orange candies were added to the mix to replace red in 1976.

In 1978, a second factory was opened in Cleveland, Tennessee, in 1978.

Going Into Space: The crew aboard NASA’s first space Columbia requested to take M&M’s with them into space, and the brand obliged, making it the first candy brand to go into space back in 1981.

In 1982, M&M’s was allowed to be included in famous director Steven Spielberg’s movie E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, but the brand rejected the inclusion.

Olympics: In 1984, M&M’s paid $5 million to be named “the official snack food of the Olympic games.”

In 1986, a University of Tennessee student Paul Hethmon began a hoax campaign to re-introduce red M&M’s that eventually became a global phenomenon.

In 1988, the darker, more chocolate brown was the main color scheme of M&M’s visual identity.

Peanut Butter M&Ms arrived on the market in 1991 and have continued to be one of the most popular additional flavors that M&Ms makes.

In 1996, M&M’s introduced smaller candies known as “M&M’s Minis.” These candies were packaged in plastic tubes rather than bags.

Crispy M&Ms came out in 1999 and they featured a soft wafer center.

Official Candy: In 2000, M&M’s was recognized as the ‘Official Candy of the New Millennium’ because it shares its initials with the Roman numeral MM for 2000.

In 2001, M&M’s introduced dulce de leche in five markets boasting significant Hispanic populations: San Diego, California; Los Angeles, California; San Antonio, Texas; McAllen-Brownsville, Texas; and Miami, Florida.

In 2002, M&M’s customers were again invited to vote for their favorite color out of aqua (turquoise), purple, and pink to introduce a new color.

Global Presence: M&M candies have been sold in over 100 countries since 2003.

It was originally introduced in 2004 and branded M-Azing.

In 2005, they were withdrawn in the United States and remained on sale in Europe as well as Southeast Asia.

Before then, they had been introduced in 2007 as “Ogre-sized M&M’s,” promoting the Shrek films.

M&M’s saw the power of social media way back in 2008 and created a Twitter account as well as a Facebook page.

In 2010, M&M’s partnered with Google Street View and launched a contest in Canada, ‘ Find Red,’ asking consumers to find the character on the streets of Canada.

In October 2011, M&M’s released the white chocolate candy corn flavor exclusively in the United States for Halloween.

By 2013, peanut butter M&M’s had become a bit smaller.

They were later re-introduced to the United States in January 2015.

The M&M’s cookie was re-released in the United States in 2016.

In 2017, M&M’s chocolate bars were made available in Australia in six varieties (strawberry, crispy, milk chocolate, almond, crispy mint, and hazelnut). Also, Caramel M&M’s were introduced in the United States the same year.

The redesign of the M&M’s logo in 2019 returned the flat two-dimensional form to the symbol, with dark brown also returning as the main color scheme of the brand.