11 Times M&M's Made Small Changes, And Everyone Totally Freaked Out

Customers have happily devoured M&M's throughout history, while also forming distinct (sometimes heated) opinions about the candy. And these individual ideas? They are strong. Maybe they have to do with a flavor being changed or a color being tweaked. Heaven forbid an M&M's mascot was replaced. Even a slight change in the recipe has been cause of lowkey uproar among avid fans. Nowhere does this reveal itself more than online, when seemingly small brand happenings are met with swift (and viral) chatter, transforming cyberspace into an open forum where everyone feels free to present their opinion about M&M's most recent actions (ranging from benign to mildly annoying, to what-the-heck-were-they-thinking territory).

Granted, this may seem dramatic to some, but when a brand like M&M's has been around for decades (kids being raised on their chocolatey, crunchy goodness only to become parents, then grandparents passing that candy adoration down each generation), even the most seemingly tiny adjustment can really throw people off (and feel strangely personal). And those feelings? Aired, unrestrained!

Of course, not every M&M's brand controversy is equal. Some snafus simply sparked playful online tiffs and mini tantrums. But others? Those changes unleashed a flood of pretty heavy backlash, revealing just how seriously people really do take their chocolate candies. Here are 11 times M&M's made a relatively small change that somehow turned into a surprisingly big deal.

There's an old saying about not judging someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes. In the case of the green and brown M&M's, you probably wouldn't have wanted to be sporting those shoes in 2022. That's because for a brief moment, the internet wasn't only buzzing with debates about politics or sports, but was also ablaze with fiery arguments regarding ... footwear.

It all kicked off when M&M's announced that its spokescandies were getting a refresh, aimed at making the characters feel a bit more modern and inclusive. The green M&M retired her white go-go boots for more casual sneakers, while the brown M&M traded sky-high stilettos for more practical (and far less sexy) wide-heeled affairs. The redesign immediately sparked an online firestorm. News outlets covered the changes, social media erupted with jokes and criticism, and there was even a petition calling for the green's famous boots to return. TV personalities also weighed in, including Tucker Carlson, whose critical commentary sparked backlash of its own.

Online discussions filled with competing viewpoints. Some argued there was never anything wrong with the original characters and questioned whether changing the shoes actually accomplished anything. Others countered that branding evolves because consumers want to see companies reflect modern values, and that relatable mascots can influence how people connect with a brand. Meanwhile, plenty of bewildered candy lovers landed somewhere in the middle, wondering how shoes had somehow become such a hotly debated topic.

When M&M's discontinued Crispy M&M's, the brand had some explaining to do. People were peeved! To make matters worse, these favored little chocolate morsels with the delightful little crunch were still being produced (and happily purchased and consumed) abroad, so folks felt it was extra personal that only America seemed to be missing out. Following the discontinuation, online reactions ranged from playful desperation to outright outrage.

Some people immediately started wondering how much international shipping would cost just to get their hands on a bag from across borders (or even oceans). Others reminisced about favorite, now elusive snack combinations, like pairing Crispy and Peanut Butter M&M's, while plenty of peeps let their frustration be known, demanding answers for why Mars had taken away a candy they'd been buying faithfully for years. Travelers even admitted to filling their suitcases while overseas just to bring the crunchy chocolates back home to finally calm their Crispy M&M's cravings.

Mars eventually revealed that Crispy M&M's had originally been introduced as a limited-time offering, but that explanation did little to quiet the fury. Instead, fans kept the pressure on via petitions and calls to the M&M's customer service number. Lo and behold, that irked persistence paid off (it took a decade of pleading, though). Mars announced the candy's return to the U.S. in 2015. News reports covered the resurrection, and judging by the customer celebrations, it was clearly the right move.

We can thank The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement for a pretty recent M&M's shakeup, which is that M&M's is changing its formula regarding artificial dye use (an artificial dye-free version will emerge, yet will be missing brown and blue). This could be seen as ironic, as President Donald Trump himself isn't known to follow these MAHA dietary guidelines. Regardless, some seem excited about the artificial dye-free options said to be coming this August (but not all are jazzed about the switcheroo).

Who knew two candy colors could create such a hullabaloo? Once word spread that the first naturally colored M&M's packs would launch without blue and brown, fans feared those iconic candies were disappearing forever. Social media filled with tributes, confusion, jokes, and even a little mourning. Not everyone was concerned, though, as plenty of commenters shrugged that every color is flavored the same anyway. Others simply wished Mars would stop teasing and just get on with it.

As more details emerge, it seems the original M&M's aren't going anywhere. Mars explained that producing stable natural versions of certain shades is way more complicated than most realize (something to do with chemistry, manufacturing ... blah blah blah). The company apparently plans to be able to bring naturally colored versions of every hue by 2028, so stand by.

By the time M&M's decided to bench its beloved spokescandies and hand the spotlight to Maya Rudolph as the brand's new "Chief of Fun," M&M's had already spent months at the center of quite a media debacle. What started with a few redesigned mascots snowballed into a whole thing (cue the drama). Mars apparently decided there was only one way to respond, and that was to go bigger with the Maya introduction ... we're talking taking out a Super Bowl ad big. That treasured ad spot, however, was considered by many to be among the very worst food ads ever to grace the Super Bowl commercial stage. 

Suffice to say, the entire experience was a big mess, leaving more than a few fans pretty hot and bothered. As it turns out, introducing Maya Rudolph, rather than calming the conversation, just made matters worse. News outlets covered the move extensively, social media erupted once again, and everyone seemed to have a theory about whether Mars was making a genuine marketing pivot or orchestrating an elaborate publicity stunt.

Marketing analysts later suggested the campaign may not have nailed it. What was supposed to unite people around a playful Super Bowl campaign instead kept the spotlight firmly on the ongoing debate surrounding animated chocolate candies of all things. Thankfully, the beloved mascots made their triumphant return, revealing the entire saga was part of the campaign all along.

A fun fact about the red M&M's that you may have never known before? For more than a decade, these cherry-hued chocolate candies disappeared from M&M's bags entirely, and the reason surprisingly had little to do with the candy itself. Apparently, sometimes doing absolutely nothing wrong still lands you in trouble (call it guilt by association). At least that was the position Mars found itself in during the 1970s, when fears surrounding Red Dye No. 2 swept across America. Even though M&M's never actually used the panic-inducing dye, it decided to remove red candies from the mix anyway to keep from confusing already nerve-wracked consumers. Orange candies gallantly stepped in as a replacement, but many fans couldn't get over red's disappearing act.

Looking back, people still vividly remember how big of a deal it was, recalling being genuinely excited when red M&M's finally returned years later. Some made jokes about the drama of it all and remembered childhood dares involving the newly reintroduced candies. Canadian fans even recalled Smarties commercials playfully highlighted the absence of red M&M's for years, proving the sensational story had reached well beyond the United States.

The return of familiar red pieces in 1987 ended one of the most bizarre chapters in M&M's history. After all, few candies have disappeared because of a coloring they didn't even use. Chalk this one up to a sweet (and sour) case of mistaken identity?

If you thought changing the M&M's mascots' shoes stirred the proverbial pot, just wait until you hear how peeved customers got when the candy bag itself got a beauty-full makeover. Ahead of International Women's Day in 2023, Mars unveiled its first-ever female-only M&M's packets, featuring green, brown, and purple as a show of support of women who were flipping the status quo. Specifically, the campaign celebrated women challenging expectations, with the brand even partnering with female artists, designers, creators, and entrepreneurs, while also pledging that proceeds from select packets would support organizations helping women continue to be empowered and make their own marks. 

The company described the campaign as taking another step toward creating a world where everyone feels they belong, but not everyone saw it that way. Critics dismissed the campaign as corporate virtue signaling, or one more brand inserting itself into cultural conversations (where it doesn't belong). Meanwhile, supporters appreciated the charitable component and efforts for positive female representation.

Some consumers admitted they liked the idea, but questioned whether a limited-edition package could create any meaningful, lasting change. Others wondered whether the campaign was true commitment or clever marketing, with critics arguing the focus should be more on sustained action than symbolic packaging. Then, just like a blink-and-you'll-miss-it thing, about two weeks after the special packs debuted, Mars announced it was pausing the spokescandies altogether. Bit of a head scratcher, indeed.

Blue may feel like it has always been a fixture in an M&M's bag, but longtime fans can remember days with a very different rainbow compilation of candy. You see, before blue arrived, there was tan. Randomly, Mars up and decided it was time for a change, but instead of just tossing tan out on its bum, the company decided to leave the new color replacement up to the public.

Consumers were invited to vote between options of blue, pink, and purple to replace tan, and blue won by a pretty large margin. Some people remember calling the voting hotline over and over as kids, casting and recasting ballots for blue. While this probably sounds like a negligible swap, plenty of loyal (should we say rabid?) tan supporters just weren't ready to let go. Now, decades later, nostalgia still runs deep for the little tan chocolate orb. 

Others recall thinking the new color felt exciting simply because it was different. The rest? They felt strongly that tan never deserved to be retired in the first place. Fans insisted it looked more chocolatey than the brighter colors, with some admitting they always saved the tan candies for last because they were somehow convinced they tasted richer. Social media comments today show the high emotions still haven't completely faded. Some proudly declare they'll never forgive Mars for replacing tan, while others jokingly refuse to eat blue M&M's to this day.

As part of M&M's character refresh in 2022, Mars revealed that the orange M&M would officially embrace his anxiety streak. The personality update was meant to make the mascots more relatable, while also aligning with the company's core message (inclusion and belonging). But with great hope, sometimes comes even greater disappointment, and orange sadly became yet another surprisingly divisive topic to debate.

Critics questioned whether assigning mental health traits to a piece of candy was really meaningful, or one more (pretty clumsy) marketing ploy. Some detractors argued there were far more impactful ways companies could support people struggling with anxiety than giving a fictional candy character a revamped personality. Others just couldn't wrap their heads around basically presenting a cartoon confection like a human therapy client.

The announcement became media fodder, giving fresh material for TV commentary, complete with critics openly mocking the idea. And boy did folks have jokes (so many jibes). Not everyone rolled their eyes, as some argued mascots have always been designed to build emotional connections with consumers, and that updating them to better reflect modern audiences wasn't a new thing. The internet, naturally, couldn't resist piling on, with one viral joke pretty much summing up the entire scuddlebutt with one simple quip: "Finally, an M&M with mental health struggles." Wherever people landed in their opinion of orange, it was clear that giving chocolate a skittish personality really could set people off.

Imagine walking down the candy aisle eagerly anticipating your regular rainbow of M&M's ... only to discover that every chocolatey morsel had suddenly gone pale. That's exactly what Mars did in 2004, when it temporarily stripped M&M's of their signature bright and cheery hues. And what did they replace them with? Oh, you know, only the dreariest of black, white, and gray tones.

It was all part of a "Find Their Colors" promo, an odd campaign that wasn't just about changing physical appearances. You see, hidden among the lack-of-pigment packets were a rare few M&M's baggies that held a single mystery hue. Basically, M&M's launched a tasty scavenger hunt and unleashed it on America. Lucky shoppers who discovered these tucked away treasures were eligible for various prizes. The somewhat puzzling promotion made an impression, so much that people still talk about it, reminiscing with fellow M&M's lovers about the "Find Their Colors" contest, the floodgates of nostalgia unleashing unfettered.

Memories abound of spotting the black-and-white bags on store shelves or watching the "Wizard of Oz"-inspired commercials that officially launched the promotion. Others recalled marveling at how strange M&M's looked without the vibrant shades of color that had always been synonymous with the brand. Whatever the reaction, removing the colors accomplished exactly what Mars hoped it would. People were talking, and M&M's was the subject on smacking lips.

When M&M's unveiled its new purple M&M's mascot, people weren't sure what to make of it. After all, introducing a brand-new candy character is one thing, but giving her a full-blown musical debut (with an audience just waiting to rip apart every minute detail) is something else entirely. Mars introduced the purple as its first new spokescandy in more than 10 years, complete with an original song, "I'm Just Gonna Be Me," which was designed to present a mascot characterized by confidence, acceptance, and authenticity. She was also the first female peanut M&M, arriving after millions of fans had voted for purple to join the M&M's bag brood over pink or aqua.

The rollout immediately riled many people up, while some folks felt the opposite (genuinely not understanding why in the world anyone cared so much). Comments ranged widely, from dumbfounded tinged with a bit of disdain (why are people getting so miffed about candy?) to even a bit of trepidation (whoa there, let's all calm down, shall we? It's ... candy). 

Others just made it into a laughing moment, joking that only the internet could make a purple piece of chocolate headline news. Critics were a bit harsher, rolling their eyes, resorting to sarcasm, and wishing Mars would just stick to making candy. Whether viewers loved or disliked the purple, or simply wondered why candy suddenly needed a musical number, its introduction sure created some drama, mama.

Sometimes the most important product reviews don't come from focus groups but arrive via thousands of frustrated customers, charging full steam ahead to unleash their opinions online ... asking nearly the exact same question: "Does this taste off to anyone else?" That's basically what happened when Peanut M&M's fans began posting on Reddit and elsewhere online that something with their favorite nut candy seemed amiss.

Some samplers pointed to the peanuts tasting stale or different from what they remembered, while others wondered if they were imagining it. Apparently, Mars was paying attention to the bemused online buzz. And rather than brushing it aside, M&M's looked into the issue. As it turns out, disease, changing growing conditions, and environmental pressures had made producing consistently high-quality peanuts increasingly difficult. Upon this discovery that only a tiny portion of harvested peanuts met the standards for Peanut M&M's, Mars decided to team up with scientists at the University of Georgia in hopes of developing a new, heartier peanut. M&M's was so serious about this, it invested millions in helping farmers grow peanuts that were able to remain fresh longer. 

The results were dramatic, with Mars claiming complaints about Peanut M&M's dropped an astounding 90%. M&M's even tracked down some of those who first raised concerns, rewarding them with coupons so they could sample the updated product and see for themselves (now that's some good PR for a change).