M&M® Candy: From Invention to Modern Production

Background

While the exact origins of M&M® candies are debated, one widely accepted story dates back to the 1930s. Soldiers in the Spanish Civil War found that coating chocolate with a sugar shell prevented melting in their pockets, inspiring the concept of a chocolate‑wrapped confection. The Mars Company refined this idea, launching its first M&M® in 1940.

Forrest Mars, Sr. founded M&M Limited in Newark, New Jersey, with a vision to sell chocolate year‑round, especially during the heat‑prone summer months when unwrapped chocolate was vulnerable to melting. By encasing the chocolate in a hard shell, M&M® could be enjoyed in any climate. During World War II, the candies were even included in military rations.

History

Chocolate itself boasts a rich heritage that stretches back to the Mayans and Aztecs of pre‑Columbian Mexico, who brewed a bitter beverage from cacao beans. The first European encounters with cacao in the 16th century led to the creation of sweetened chocolate drinks, and by the 18th century chocolate solids began to appear in culinary texts.

The modern chocolate bar was made possible in 1828 when Dutch chocolatier Conrad van Houten invented a screw press that separated cocoa butter from cocoa powder, yielding a smoother chocolate paste. Subsequent innovations—such as the addition of milk by Swiss maker Daniel Peter in 1876—laid the groundwork for the milk chocolate that would later form the heart of M&M®.

Hershey’s introduced affordable chocolate bars in 1904, but it wasn’t until 1940 that M&M® entered the market. The name derives from the initials of Mars and his partner, and over the decades the brand expanded to include peanut, almond, mint, and peanut‑butter varieties. Today, M&M® remains the best‑selling snack brand in the United States.

Product variations have evolved in response to consumer preferences and regulatory standards. In 1976, a red‑colored variant was temporarily removed due to concerns over a particular food dye, only to reappear in 1987. In 1995, blue M&M® replaced the tan version following a consumer survey.

Raw Materials

M&M® consist of two primary components: a chocolate center and a hard candy shell. The chocolate is a blend of whole milk, cocoa butter, sugar, and chocolate liquor—syrupy cacao ground into a fine paste. The candy shell is made from sugar and corn syrup, producing a crisp, smooth coating.

The Manufacturing Process

Molding

• Liquid chocolate (or peanut butter for the peanut‑butter variant) is poured into miniature molds to form the centers.
• Once set, the centers are tumbled to achieve a uniform, rounded shape before hardening.

Coating (Panning)

• Hardened centers travel on a conveyor to the panning station.
• They rotate in large vats where a liquid candy mixture of sugar and corn syrup is sprayed. Multiple layers dry sequentially, building a complete shell.
• Color is added in a finishing syrup for each batch, and the final coat dries into a hardened shell.

Printing

• Single‑colored batches are combined into color mixes (red, yellow, blue, green, brown, orange). The “m” is stamped onto each shell using a specialized etching machine that gently applies rubber rollers, preventing cracks.
• Approximately 2.6 million M&M® pass through the etching machine per hour, with a daily output of about 100 million pieces.

Packaging

• A dedicated machine weighs and places the correct number of candies into individual bags, then heat‑seals them.
• Plain M&M® are typically composed of roughly 30% brown, 20% yellow, 20% red, 10% green, 10% orange, and 10% blue. Peanut, almond, and peanut‑butter varieties have their own color distributions.
• Finished bags are assembled into cartons and sealed for shipment.

Quality Control

After color blending, candies are sifted to remove misshapen pieces. Missing or imperfect “m” markings are not considered defects; the slight variation in shape is inherent to the manufacturing process.