The M&M’s Namesake: A Tale of Two Founders. In a fascinating example of edible eponymy, M&M’s, the colorful button-shaped chocolates that have been a beloved snack for generations, owe their name to the innovative duo behind their creation: Forrest Mars Sr. and Bruce Murrie.
This unlikely pairing of a candy maker’s son and a chocolate maker’s son would give rise to a candy empire, with their initials forever immortalized in the iconic brand’s name. From humble beginnings to a global phenomenon, the story of M&M’s is a testament to the power of creativity, collaboration, and a little bit of sweetness.
The M&M’s
Meanwhile, M&M’s are color-varied sugar-coated dragée chocolate confectionery, each of which has the letter “m” printed in lower case in white on one side. This is consisting of a candy shell surrounding a filling which varies depending upon the variety of M&M’s.
The original candy has a semi-sweet chocolate filling, later branded as the “plain” variety. Peanut M&M’s feature a peanut in milk chocolate. They remain a regular variety, coated in a colorful candy shell.
Numerous other variations have been introduced, some of which are regular widespread varieties (peanut butter, almond, pretzel, crispy, dark chocolate, and caramel) while others are limited in duration or geographic availability. M&M’s are the flagship product of the Mars Wrigley Confectionery division of Mars, Incorporated.
The candy originated in the United States in 1941, and M&M’s have been sold in over 100 countries since 2003. They are produced in different colors, some of which have changed over the years. Forrest Mars Sr. may have drawn inspiration for M&M’s from Smarties, a candy he possibly encountered during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).
The sugar coating made it possible to carry chocolate in warm climates without it melting. The company’s longest-lasting slogan reflects this: “The milk chocolate that melts in your mouth, not in your hand.”
A traditional milk chocolate M&M weighs about 0.91 grams / 0.032 ounces and has about 4.7 calories (kcal) of food energy (1.7 kcal from fat). Contrary to common belief, each colored M&M does not have a different flavor and all possess the same chocolate taste.
Where did the idea come from?
The original idea for M&M’s is quite surprising. It was sparked when Forrest Mars saw soldiers eating Smarties during the Spanish Civil War.
They were able to travel with the candies because the hard shell around the chocolate in the middle prevented it from melting. This inspired Forrest to make a similar thing.
The initial batch of M&M’s, produced in 1941, was specifically created for US Army soldiers during World War II. The soldiers were able to carry the chocolates in hot climates and for long distances without them melting.
Soon, the chocolate became so popular that the pair decided to put it on wider sale after the war and began stamping each chocolate with the iconic ‘M’ to mark it out from other similar candies.
Free from UK/Europe/Australia/Asia until 1980s, peanut M&M’s debuted in 1954, expanding globally decades later.
You can get all sorts of different flavors of M&M’s now. Which is your favorite?
The meaning of the name M&M.
The two M’s represent the co-creators of the chocolate- Mars and Murries.
Mars stands for Forrest Mars Sr, who was the son of Frank C Mars, founder of the Mars company (how many times can you fit Mars into a sentence?).
Furthermore, Murrie stands for Bruce Murrie, who was the son of the Hershey president William FR Murrie. He partnered up with Forrest to create the product and received a 20 percent share of the candies.
M&M’s characters
Early black-and-white adverts for the candy in 1954 featured two talking, anthropomorphic M&M characters—one plain and one peanut. And, diving into a swimming pool full of chocolate.
However,The first incarnation of the characters in CGI was a 1994 celebrity campaign which had the characters interacting with celebrities on which M&Ms candy color is their favorite. This campaign was created by Blue Sky Studios.
Concurrent with 1995’s blue M&M campaign, M&M’s introduced a second computer-animated “spokes candies” in their television commercials. The depiction and campaign of the M&M’s were made by Will Vinton in 1995.
Vinton previously created the clay-animated California Raisins in 1986. Aquino’s CGI work led to a more mature depiction of M&M’s characters, unlike typical food mascots.
Red is the cynical mascot for milk chocolate, peanut butter, and crispy M&M’s, originally voiced by Jon Lovitz. Yellow is the happy mascot for Peanut M&M’s, originally voiced by John Goodman and initially known as “Peanut”.
Other mascots include the “cool one”, Blue (voiced by Robb Pruitt) who is the mascot for Almond M&M’s; the seductive Green (her personality is a reference to the 1970s urban legend that green M&Ms were aphrodisiacs) (voiced by Cree Summer and Larissa Murray), who is the mascot for both Dark Chocolate Mint and Peanut Butter M&M’s, and the slightly neurotic Orange (voiced by Eric Kirchberger), who was introduced when Crispy M&M’s were first released and is currently the mascot Pretzel M&M’s, which debuted in 2010.
Summary
As the mascot of Pretzel M&M’s, Orange was joined by the second non-M&M mascot, Pretzel Guy, who “supports” him and offers helpful advice as he hates the idea of having a pretzel put inside his body.
In conclusion, the story of M&M’s founders, Forrest Mars Sr. and Bruce Murrie, shows the power of innovation. It is also a sign of perseverance, and partnership. From humble beginnings to global success. Their tale is a sweet reminder that even the most unlikely duos can achieve greatness together. As you savor the colorful, goodness of M&M’s, remember the two visionaries who brought joy to millions, round piece once.
