Did you know that the delicious M&M’s were created as ready meals for soldiers during World Word II?
These little round chocolates were packed in cardboard tubes and covered in hard sugar coats.
The original colors were brown, red, yellow, green, and violet.
Over time, violet was replaced, and today’s classic M&M’s also include orange and blue.
The idea of sugar coats came to Forrest Mars, son of the Mars Company founder. The story says that he saw the soldier during the Spanish Civil War eating small chocolate pellets protected by a hard sugar cover.
The sugar cover prevented the chocolate from melting. This inspired him to make his own similar product that was resistant to heat and easy to transport especially for the soldiers fighting in the warm Pacific area.
He went to the Hershey Chocolate Corporation, which controlled most of the U.S. chocolate supply during wartime rationing, to make sure his product could be manufactured.
So M&M’s Ltd was formed in association with Hershey.
The name of the chocolate candy consists of the initials of Mars and Murrie.
Mars from – Forrest Edward Mars (the son of founder of Mars) Forrest Clarance Mars and Bruce Murrie the son of Hershey Chocolate’s president William F.R. Murrie.
M&M’s Ltd sold these candies exclusively to the military when the US entered WW II.
It became a favorite snack for the soldiers.
After the war ended in 1945, M&M’s were no longer restricted to military rations and were sold to the public in larger quantities.
Their long-standing association with the military, even up to the present day, gave them a strong reputation, and their colorful, sugar-coats made them highly appealing to consumers.
In 1950, M&M’s introduced their iconic “M” stamp on each candy, helping to distinguish the brand.
The famous slogan “Melts in your mouth, not in your hand” was introduced in 1954, further solidifying their place in the market.
Around the same time, peanut M&M’s were also introduced.
In 1981 M&M’s became the first candy to go to space during the STS -1 mission.
The first orbital spaceflight of NASA’s Space Shuttle program, aboard Columbia.
M&M’s were chosen because their small size, durable coating, and ease of transport.
This made them an ideal snack for astronauts in zero gravity.
They have been a popular treat on many following space missions, making M&M’s a regular part of astronauts’ space menus ever since.
Today M&M’s candies became individual characters based on their colors and the brand has managed to build a great success from combining commercials with entertainment for millions of consumers.
The M&M’s brand has a rich history and went through many changes over the decades.
So…It doesn’t matter how a brand starts—what truly matters is its consistency and ability to adapt and stay relevant over time.
M&M’s are a perfect example of this, evolving from military rations to space missions and staying up to date with contemporary times and current issues.
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