Where Did M&M's Get Their Name?

How does a company achieve excellence and maintain it for over 75 years? M&M's have transcended being called a food company and instead rooted itself as a household name, producing over 400 million M&M's every day!

According to this article, the M&M's candy was first developed by Forrest Mars Sr. in the 1930's when he saw a handful of soldiers eating a British made candy called Smarties. After sampling the candy and being impressed with how it resisted melting, Forrest returned to the U.S and began a partnership with Bruce Murrie (one of the heirs to the Hershey's Chocolate empire) in 1941!

Today, the M&M's brand is one of the many successful brands under the Mars Candy Empire located in McLean, Virginia.

M&M's Image Via Canva

The M&M name comes from the founder's last names: Mars and Murrie.

From the beginning, M&M's and team knew they had a unique product that solved a very old problem- chocolate melting in your hands or pockets.

The solution that made this the number one selling candy in the U.S? Coat the center of the M&M in a confectioner's sugar. This binds the external shell and prevents melting.

Interesting Fact: The military was looking for a way to give troops comfort foods while in the trenches of WWII. However, chocolate was rarely included because it was too messy. Until, they heard about the chocolate "that would melt in your mouth and not your hand!" The military ended up being the sole purchaser of M&M's until the end of WWII.