Previously, people who ate M&M’s for the first time used to be amazed at the taste. But now, even the origin behind this delicious chocolate has gone quite viral on social media. One TikToker, Claire Dinhut, an American who currently lives in London, decided to explain the family drama behind this chocolate. She went on to reveal that the name of the chocolate stood for Mars and Murrie after business collaborators and chocolate heirs Bruce Murrie and Forrest Mars Sr. For those wondering, Bruce was the son of William Murrie, the executive of Hershey, while Forrest was the son of Frank C. Mars, the founder of Mars.
In her TikTok video, which went on to garner 9000 likes, she told the story where Forrest E. Mars had a falling out with his dad, who was the original founder of Mars. She stated, “My most fun candy history fact is M&M and why it is called M&M, basically there is so much family drama here and it’s so juicy, it’s so good. The Mars company was started before Hershey’s by this guy, and his son was really good at coming up with chocolate bars.” She then claimed that the son had been traveling across Europe where he spotted people enjoying chocolate which was covered in candy. Since he had a falling out with his dad, he didn’t want to inform him about this idea- but rather he went to their arch-rivals, Hershey’s.
The History Behind M&M’s Name Is Quite Interesting- And Illuminates A Culture Of the 1930s
Claire mentioned, “He goes to Hershey’s and he’s like I am the son of Mars but I don’t want to give it to my father, let’s just work together. The guy who is running Hershey’s, his last name is Murrie, he was like sure but you have to work with my son. So they worked together and created these little candies.” Since Forrest had created this candy with Murrie’s son, the pair decided to name this brand after themselves. She remarked, “They called them Mars, like the first guy’s last name, and Murrie the second guy’s last name, M&M. The reason it all popped off is they created it right before World War II, and in World War II they made this deal with the government that in every soldier’s bag were M&M’s.”
History TV’s official website also explained, “After the US entered the war, the candies were exclusively sold to the military, enabling the heat-resistant, and easy-to-transport chocolate to be included in American soldiers’ rations. By the time the war was over and the GIs returned home, they were hooked.”
Do You Know What The Different Colors Stand For?
Interestingly, M&M’s candies have their own colors and symbolism behind them- as well as a distinctly different flavor. The Red M&M is a milk-based product- either milk chocolate, or dark chocolate peanut butter and is quite crispy. This symbolizes a genius IQ and physical prowess. The next color, Yellow, has the flavor of peanut and dark chocolate peanut and is one of the official, original colors. The Blue one has the flavor of raspberry, almond, or dark chocolate. This candy was created in 1995 after it was elected as the new branding color for the candies.
Green M&M’s are the anthropomorphic M&M created with a beauty that belies description. Orange is the spokescandy for Crispy M&Ms and Pretzel M&Ms. This color is quite paranoid, and nervous because it feels that it would be the first to be eaten considering how delicious it looks. Brown belongs to Ms. Brown- which is one of the newest colors and spokes candies. This is the original milk chocolate according to rumors, but according to the website it has flavorings of fudge brownie.
Initially, M&M’s didn’t have the signature M stamp till 1950. This is when the customers were asked to look for it in every piece, in order to guarantee authenticity. This interesting tidbit of information did fascinate people on social media. One individual commented, “Oh boy was I invested.” Another user went on to comment, “Love food history.” And finally, a third user stated, “Now this is history I’m interested in.”
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Sources
- “M&M’s fans discover meaning behind the chocolate’s name.” NY Post. September 26, 2022.
- “Chocolate lovers delight after learning the secret drama behind M&M’s – and what the name actually stands for.” Daily Mail. Ellen Coughlan May 2, 2023.
