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M&M's were created in 1940 after Forrest Mars Sr. saw Spanish soldiers eating chocolate pellets coated in sugar during the Spanish Civil War, to prevent the soldiers from gaining sticky hands after eating chocolate. M&M's were first sold in the United States in 1941. By World War II, American soldiers were given the candy by the United States Army; soon after this it was marketed to the public. The candies were named for "Mars & Murrie" (Mars' business partner was Bruce Murrie, son of rival Milton S. Hershey's partner William Murrie.) M&M's soon became a hit because, in those times when air conditioning was not usually found in stores, homes, or the automobile, melting chocolate candy bars were a problem; but in M&M's, the candy's coating kept the chocolate from getting messy.
In France, Germany and the United Kingdom, Peanut M&M's were known as Treets until 1990. Additionally, Toffee Treets were also available for some time. The chocolate versions were not introduced until the brand became M&M's. This was partly to do with the market dominance of the similar candy Nestlé Smarties which made competing under anything but a very high profile brand difficult, with the added risk of reducing sales of the existing Treets brand. Though Treets used the same "melt in your mouth not in your hand" slogan in the UK in the 1970s, this was transferred to Minstrels when the Treets brand was dropped.
In 1954, Peanut Chocolate Candies were introduced, while the M&M's brand characters and the famous slogan "The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand" were both trademarked.
In 1988, "Almond M&M's" hit stores with limited release, with appearances only during Christmas and Easter times. These candies are much like the peanut variety, but with an almond instead of a peanut inside the candy. Due to rising popularity, Mars gave them full releases in 1992.
In 1990, "Peanut Butter M&M's" were released. These candies have peanut butter inside the chocolate center and the same color scheme as the other brands. Despite the best efforts of the marketing campaign these M&M's have not recieved any widespread following. It has been suggested that this is due, in part, to the popularity of Reese's pieces and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups which feature a Confectionary peanut butter which is considered to be better tasting in the marketplace.
In 1993, Mars ran a promotion in which consumers were invited to vote on which of blue, pink, or purple would be introduced. Blue was the winner, and was added in early 1995. The tan candies were eliminated at this time.
Around the same time, novelty M&M's were available in specialty stores, such as F.A.O. Schwarz, in 24 different colors.
In 1996, Mars introduced a new M&M candy: the "M&M's Minis." These candies are very small and are sold in small plastic tubes instead of bags. A video game, M&M's Minis Madness, was also eventually released, based on this candy.
In 1998, the "Crispy M&M's" were released. These are slightly larger than the milk chocolate variety and feature a crispy rice center.
In 2003, Mars ran another vote to add a new color from 3 choices. Once again, the general public were the voters. The 3 choices were turquoise, pink and purple. This time, purple won.
In June 2004, M&M's gained unexpected fame as Mike Melvill, the pilot of SpaceShipOne the world's first manned private suborbital space flight, opened up a package of the chocolate brand when he reached the border of space (100km) in order to demonstrate weightlessness as the candy floated in the cabin. Melvill chose the candies because they were both colorful, therefore showing up well on camera, and because once gravity was restored if they fell into any of the controls they could be easily crushed and not interfere with the mechanisms.
In the summer of 2005, Mars added "Mega M&M's" to the lineup. These candies are 55% larger than the traditional M&M's and are available in milk chocolate and peanut varieties. The colors were also changed to less-bright colors (teal, beige, maroon, gold, brown and blue-gray) to appeal more to adults.
Other related archives"spokescandies", 1940, 1954, 1970s, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2004,
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