M&M's will drop blue coating as it reformulates for natural colors to meet health demands
Executive summary: Mars announced in August it will reformulate M&M's candy coatings to remove artificial colors, notably dropping the blue coating due to high production costs. The reformulation may affect brand identity, create cost pressures, and influence market dynamics for confectionery products, while raising questions about artificial additive use.
Who is involved: Mars Inc., the manufacturer of M&M's, consumers, and regulators overseeing food additive standards.
Likely next: The reformulated coatings will be gradually rolled out internationally later in 2026, with monitoring of consumer response and potential ripple effects on other snack brands.
Mars disclosed that starting August the company will replace artificial colorants in its M&M's coating, eliminating the blue hue because producing blue without artificial dyes is deemed too costly. The change is part of a broader push to use only natural colors across its confectionery portfolio. Industry observers note that removing a signature color could alter consumer perception, though the impact on sales remains uncertain.
Timeline
- — M&M’s cambiano colori e ingredienti per renderli più salutari. Ma senza il blu (la Repubblica — Economia)
Analysis — what this means
Likely next events
- Global rollout of new coating starting Q4 2026
- Consumer sentiment monitoring via social listening
Sectors affected
- Confectionery
- Snack Food
- Food & Beverage
Regulatory implications
- Requirement to disclose reformulation in food additive labeling
- Impact on regulations concerning artificial colorants
Historical parallels
- Coca-Cola's removal of artificial colors from certain drinks in 2020
- Mars' elimination of artificial flavors from Skittles in 2022
- Nestlé's shift to natural colors in chocolate products
Sources
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