Updated
Updated · The Independent · Jun 19
Mars Debuts Naturally Dyed M&M's on Amazon in August as Dye Fight Targets 85-Year-Old Brand
Updated
Updated · The Independent · Jun 19

Mars Debuts Naturally Dyed M&M's on Amazon in August as Dye Fight Targets 85-Year-Old Brand

3 articles · Updated · The Independent · Jun 19

Summary

  • August will bring Mars’ first naturally dyed M&M’s to Amazon, a nearly nine-decade shift for the candy that initially drops blue and brown pieces.
  • 100 employees and millions of dollars went into the launch after Mars failed to recreate those colors naturally; spirulina-based blue reportedly clogged factory machinery.
  • Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened a deceptive-practices probe last year, citing Mars’ 2016 pledge to remove artificial colors and disputing its claims that the dyes pose no known health risks.
  • Mars says it was already weighing dye-free alternatives, but the launch also aligns with the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” push, which has prodded food makers including PepsiCo to reformulate products.

Insights

Mars can't yet make natural blue M&M's. Why is this tiny candy color a multi-million dollar industrial nightmare?
With M&M's going natural, are we trading known artificial dyes for poorly understood natural alternatives?