As time passes, the things around us change. Though it may not be noticeable, even our candy changes. Our story begins during the Spanish Civil War, during the 1930s. Forrest Mars, Sr., son of the creator of the Milky Way bar, noticed how during the war, rations of chocolate were fashioned in small orbs to conserve space. After his discovery, Mars decided to craft his own chocolates. Finally, in 1941, the first M&Ms were sold to the United States military in cardboard tubes during World War II.

 Though these candies were intended for war rations, soldiers came home hooked on chocolate drops with hard sugar coatings. By the time the war was over and troops returned home from Europe, the candies were sold to the public based on popularity in the military. In 1948, the M&Ms brown packaging was introduced and still remains today. Following this, another iconic trademark of M&Ms was created. In 1950, the little “M” was printed onto the face of the individual chocolate drops, encouraging customers to “Look for the M on every piece.” As an era of tradition was in full swing, M&Ms established yet another iconic introduction: cartoon characters. Being that the peanut M&Ms were released in 1954, it seemed necessary to have both Mr. Plain and Mr. Peanut cartoon characters advertise their company. By 1956, M&Ms were the most popular candy in the United States, beating out all other chocolate manufacturers, even Hershey. Around this time, Mars began to advertise M&Ms internationally. This eventually led to M&Ms becoming the most popular candy in Hong Kong, France, and Germany. In addition, M&Ms went to space in 1982!

 The original colors of M&Ms were red, yellow, tan, and green. Sophomore Andrea Shealey said, “Yellow is my favorite color of M&Ms. I had no idea they were one of the original colors of M&Ms made. I just thought they always existed.”  By 1960, only yellow, green, and red were in circulation, but following this date, more colors and flavors were added. The orange M&M was added in 1976, and in 1995, the general public was invited to vote on which color the new M&M should be after the tan M&M was removed. In the end, the blue M&M was added to the bunch, with purple being “elected” into the bunch in 2002. In 1996, custom colors were added to M&Ms, and even today, individuals can customize colors and messages on M&Ms for events such as weddings and birthdays.

 For the first time since the creation of the M&M, the Mini M&M was created. Three years later, the Crispy M&M was created, followed by a new line of Premium M&Ms released in 2009. These flavors include mint chocolate, mocha, and raspberry almond. In circulation today, there are also almond, dark chocolate, and peanut butter M&Ms. Today, there have been rumors about the seasonal white chocolate M&M becoming an all-year treat. The Mars company confirmed that the white chocolate M&M will be sold all year, not just around Easter time!

 No matter what the season, delicious M&Ms are an American tradition and classic that will be enjoyed for decades to come.