It’s the popular chocolate treat that has been around for over 80 years – but consumers have just discovered a very surprising detail about M&M’s.
The American “candy” made up of chocolate coated in a hard shell, first launched in 1941 and has since gone on to become a globally recognized brand with an array of different flavors and varieties.
However, where the name comes from is a detail that often confuses chocolate lovers, with many asking what the initials stand for.
While many believe the name was inspired by the “mmm” sound made when you eat the chocolate, there’s a much simpler explanation.
The two ‘M’s in the name actually represent Forrest E. Mars Sr. – the founder of Mars – and Bruce Murrie, the son of Hershey Chocolate’s president William F. R. Murrie.
After a fall-out with his father in 1932, Mars went to England to start manufacturing Mars bars.
During his time, he noticed volunteers eating small chocolate buttons with a hard sugar shell coating to prevent it from melting.
He began to get interested in the idea of developing a product which could be transported in high temperatures.
Mars approached Murrie with an idea for a new business venture, and the rest as they say is history.
A recently resurfaced Reddit thread revealed fans of the chocolate were surprised at the origin of the name.
“This is actually some info I haven’t seen before. Bravo,” one said.
“I legitimately felt good learning that…thank you,” another agreed.
Who are the M&M characters?
Each M&M is associated with a different flavour.
The Red M&M is milk either milk chocolate, dark chocolate peanut butter and crispy.
He is created with the IQ of a genius and physical prowess.
Yellow has the flavor of peanut and dark chocolate peanut and is one of the original colors.
Blue has the flavour of either almond, raspberry or dark chocolate.
Blue was created in 1995 after he was elected as the new M&M’s colour while Green has the flavouring of either dark chocolate, dark chocolate mint or peanut butter.
Green is an anthropomorphic M&M created with natural beauty beyond description.
Orange is the spokescandy for Pretzel M&Ms and Crispy M&Ms. He is very paranoid, and is always scared or nervous due to the fact he always thinks that he will be eaten because he is delicious.
Brown belongs to Ms. Brown, one of the newest spokescandies and colors. Supposedly she is “the original milk chocolate”, but according to the M&M website she has flavorings of fudge brownie.
Why was the green M&M changed?
The Green M&M was recently given a makeover which involved giving up her iconic white go-go boots in favour of sensible white trainers.
Mars announced in January that the chocolate M&M’S characters were getting a global rebrand in order to make them more “representative of our consumer”.
Speaking about the reasons behind the change, Anton Vincent, president of Mars Wrigley North America told CNN that the footwear is “a subtle cue, but it’s a cue people really pick up on”.
