Mars to debut naturally colored M&M's, omitting blue and brown shades

Mars Corp. announced that its iconic M&M's candy will be produced with natural color ingredients for the first time later this summer. The company plans to launch a four-color version in August, excluding the traditional blue and brown shells because the natural pigment spirulina, chosen to replace artificial Blue 1, creates processing challenges.

Spirulina requires about seven times more pigment to achieve the desired hue and forms a thick, foamy mixture that can clog production lines and foster mold growth. To address this, Mars will need to upgrade more than 300 machines across its M&M's facilities, installing new mixing tanks, paddles and motors, and will use hotter, more forceful cleaning cycles.

"It’s the hardest thing I’ve had to do in my career," said Claire Hewitt, Mars executive overseeing the color change project.

The move follows pressure from the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) campaign, which advocates eliminating synthetic food dyes. Mars had previously pledged in 2016 to remove artificial colors but later delayed the plan for its candy products. The naturally colored M&M's will be sold exclusively through Amazon at launch, while the conventional artificially colored version will continue to be available. Mars aims to recreate all six classic colors with natural ingredients by 2028.