M&M’s, the candies that soldiers loved

M&M’s, the multi-coloured button-shaped chocolates are the favourite of any candy connoisseur. After being released to the masses in the 1940s, M&M’s have become immensely popular. Named after the founders of the company, Forrest Mars Sr. and Bruce Murrie, M&M’s was actually inspired by European military rations.   

Origin of M&Ms 
M&M’s have been around since 1941, and they’ve had quite a journey so far. It was first developed by an American businessman, Forrest Mars Sr. in the 1930s when he saw a handful of soldiers in Europe eating a British-made candy called Smarties. He was impressed with the idea that the candy resisted melting in the hot sun. And so, Forrest Mars Sr. along with Bruce Murrie (who was one of the heirs to the Hershey’s chocolate empire at that time) launched M&M’s in 1941.  

A hit with the American soldiers  
After it launched, the product was a hit with the American soldiers. The US military became its first big customer as it gave the soldiers an option to carry chocolates in tropical summer without them melting away. M&M’s were a great way for soldiers to get fast energy. This was much needed when they were working in the sun. But why only M&M’s?  

Well, chocolate is rarely included till now in military rations because it was too messy to handle. But M&M’s promised a unique product to its customers which would not melt in their hands or pocket in hot sun. “It melts in your mouth, not in your hands”, that’s how they promoted these tiny round chocolate-flavoured candies.  

M&M’s today 
From the inception, three has been no looking back for the company. In 1981, M&M’s again made history, when they were launched into orbit with the Columbia space shuttle. It became the first candy in space. They were also named the official snack of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, which increased their popularity in leaps and bounds.  

With increasing popularity, the production also kept increasing and today, more than 400 million M&M’s are produced every day. However, the M&M’s itself hasn’t changed much! The colours and fillings have gone through a few changes but the formula has remained much the same. The original M&M was plain chocolate, with the signature shell, which came in brown, red, orange, yellow, green and violet.  

Today, as you know, there are dozens of M&M flavours, including classics like peanut and peanut butter, limited edition flavours like mint and caramel, and premium ones like pretzel and birthday cake.