M&M's (stylized as 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, 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 which, upon introduction of other variations, was branded as the "plain, normal" variety. Peanut M&M's, which feature a peanut coated in milk chocolate, and finally a candy shell, were the first variation to be introduced, and they remain a regular variety. 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. Montagna, M., T., et al. (2019). Chocolate, “food of the gods”: History, science, and human health.

Schultz, E J (May 9, 2013). "Rewind: 1954 Ad Shows M&Ms Characters Go for a Chocolatey Swim". Advertising Age. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015 . Retrieved November 18, 2015. In October 2011, Mars released M&M's White Chocolate Candy Corn exclusively in the United States for Halloween. These candies come in three candy corn inspired colors: white, bright yellow, and bright orange. Mendoza, Jordan (October 3, 2022). "For the first time in over a decade, a new M&M color: Meet Purple, who represents 'acceptance' ". USA Today . Retrieved April 30, 2023. Several other flavors of M&M debuted throughout the 2010s. These include Pretzel M&M's, released in 2010; [26] Coffee Nut M&M's, released in 2016; [27] Caramel M&M's, released in 2017; [28] English Toffee M&M's, released in 2019; [29] [30] and Hazelnut Spread M&M's, also released in 2019. [31]However, flavanol content varies among dark chocolate products. Processing methods also differ between manufacturers, and this can affect the flavanol content of the chocolate. Notter, Ewald (18 January 2011). The Art of the Chocolatier: From Classic Confections to Sensational Showpieces. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-39884-5. Taylor, Victoria (October 2, 2014). "Crispy M&M's returning to shelves in January". Daily News. New York . Retrieved August 15, 2019. A recent article in Consumer Reports tested several popular dark chocolate products and found that many contain high levels of lead and cadmium. Since these substances occur naturally in cacao, removing them has been a challenge for chocolate manufacturers.

Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 10, 2015 . Retrieved September 18, 2019. {{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title ( link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ( link) 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 second computer-animated "spokescandies" 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. Around the time he worked on CGI projects, he made the depiction of the M&M's as more mature than most food mascots. These include the team of the cynical and sardonic Red (originally voiced by Jon Lovitz, thereafter Billy West) [54] who is the mascot for milk chocolate, peanut butter, and crispy M&M's, and the happy and gullible Yellow (originally voiced by John Goodman, thereafter J.K. Simmons), who is the mascot for Peanut M&M's (he was originally known as "Peanut" when first introduced). Other mascots include the "cool one", Blue (voiced by Robb Pruitt) [55] [56] 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) [57] (voiced by Cree Summer and Larissa Murray), [56] 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 returned when Pretzel M&M's debuted in 2010. Orange, upon his return, 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. Smith, Andrew F. (2012). Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to Eat. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313393938. About the time Pretzel M&M's came out, the M&M's wrapper designs in the US were redone from the design used from 2004 to early 2010. [26] Media articles about the benefits of dark chocolate focus mainly on the flavanols in cocoa beans and chocolate, but when the cocoa is processed into chocolate, many of the flavanols are removed. Do small amounts of dark chocolate contain enough flavanols?

What is Dark Chocolate?

HDL cholesterol helps reduce the total amount of cholesterol in the blood while LDL cholesterol can narrow blood vessels. Rostami, A., et al. (2015). High-cocoa polyphenol-rich chocolate improves blood pressure in patients with diabetes and hypertension. Shin, J. H., et al. (2022). Consumption of 85% cocoa dark chocolate improves mood in association with gut microbial changes in healthy adults: a randomized controlled trial. The health benefits of dark chocolate come primarily from the flavanols present in the cacao solids. M&M'S About M&MS: History". Mms.com. October 6, 2010. Archived from the original on November 24, 2012 . Retrieved November 21, 2012.

Souza, S. J., et al. (2017). Effect of chocolate and mate tea on lipid profile of individuals with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy: A clinical trial [Abstract]. Leyva-Soto, A., et al. (2018). Daily consumption of chocolate rich in flavonoids decreases cellular genotoxicity and improves biochemical parameters of lipid and glucose metabolism. Mikkelson, David (May 11, 2011). "M&Ms and E.T." Snopes. ...when Mars, Inc. passed on the chance for its flagship product, M&Ms, to be the candy used in 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Its turn-down cleared the way for Hershey Foods Corporation to make a remarkable splash for its Reese's Pieces In the 1980s, M&M's were introduced internationally to Australia, Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom. [20]The Nestle archives show [10] that George Harris of Rowntree and Forrest Mars Sr. agreed, after much negotiation, to share the marketplace rather than compete, with Rowntree making Mars Bars in Canada, Erie and South Africa and with Mars making M&M's in America without competition from Smarties, and Rowntree did not attempt to sue Mars for stealing their concept. [11] Orange M&M's chocolate candy in cross-section with millimeter ruler for scale. Shows layers of hard-panned coating. Magrone, T., et al. (2017). Cocoa and dark chocolate polyphenols: From biology to clinical applications. Venture into the deep and satisfying flavours of cocoa. Whether you’re seeking a treat for yourself or a gift for a dark chocolate devotee, explore the Hotel Chocolat Dark Chocolate selection. Each item in this carefully curated collection has been crafted from decadent 70% to 100% dark chocolate so you can really experience the nuanced flavours and aromas that cacao has to offer. M&M'S Color Break Up". Mars. February 18, 2009. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009 . Retrieved February 18, 2009. Lee, Y., et al. (2017). Effects of dark chocolate and almonds on cardiovascular risk factors in overweight and obese individuals: A randomized controlled‐feeding trial.

Medical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and draws only from peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We avoid using tertiary references. We link primary sources — including studies, scientific references, and statistics — within each article and also list them in the resources section at the bottom of our articles. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy. Mars Chocolate Australia M&M's: Bare All". Adeevee.com. January 11, 2010. Archived from the original on May 11, 2016 . Retrieved September 6, 2019. Mushet, C.; Sur La Table; Caruso, M. (2008). The Art and Soul of Baking. Andrews McMeel Publishing. pp.39–40. ISBN 978-0-7407-7334-1. Melina, Remy (February 10, 2011). "Why Were Red M&M's Discontinued for a Decade? LiveScience". Live Science. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018 . Retrieved May 22, 2018.Crossan, Anna (May 13, 2023). "The Unlikely Similarity Between Smarties And M&M's". Mashed . Retrieved November 1, 2023. On September 28, 2022, the introduction of purple M&M's were announced, as well as their newest spokescandy, Purple. [35] Marketing Owen, Rob (February 17, 2012). "TV Q&A: 'The Good Wife,' awards shows and 'The Little Couple' ". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012 . Retrieved February 17, 2012.