In 1976, Mars eliminated red-colored M&M's [69] because of health concerns over the dye amaranth ( FD&C Red #2), which was a suspected carcinogen, and replaced them with orange M&M's. This was done despite the fact that M&M's did not contain the dye; the action was purely to satisfy worried consumers. [15] Ten years later, Paul Hethmon, then a student at University of Tennessee, started a joke campaign to reinstate red M&M's that would eventually become a worldwide phenomenon. [70] Red M&M's were reintroduced as a result, and the orange M&M's that had originally replaced them were kept in production. In Europe, red M&M's contain the red dye carmine (E120, cochineal). [71] Flanagan, Graham (June 17, 2014). "How M&Ms Passed On The Product Placement Opportunity Of A Lifetime". Business Insider. Archived from the original on February 5, 2019 . Retrieved September 6, 2019. The only reason Reese's Pieces got the lucrative product placement in the first place was because M&Ms had already refused the filmmakers permission to use its product in the film Taylor, Victoria (October 2, 2014). "Crispy M&M's returning to shelves in January". Daily News. New York . Retrieved August 15, 2019.

In the 1980s, M&M's were introduced internationally to Australia, Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom. [20] Of course, the real distinction for this M&M is not its taste but its texture. These are dense and chewy- almost soft- all the way through. Several other flavors of M&M debuted throughout the 2010s. These include Pretzel M&M's, released in 2010; [26] Coffee Nut M&M's, released in 2016; [27] Caramel M&M's, released in 2017; [28] English Toffee M&M's, released in 2019; [29] [30] and Hazelnut Spread M&M's, also released in 2019. [31] M&M'S Color Break Up". Mars. February 18, 2009. Archived from the original on February 28, 2009 . Retrieved February 18, 2009. M&M’s Minis are meant to be nothing more than the classic plain M&M, shrunk down to an even smaller size … a slightly pointless endeavor, given that the candies are already bite sized. But who cares–the M&M Mini is obviously fun for kids, and the little tubes they classically come in make them even more portable than other M&M bags. Personally, I always associate the Minis with the McDonald’s McFlurry, which used them rather than the full-sized candies.Peanut M&M's were introduced in 1954 but first appeared [17] only in the color tan. In 1960, M&M's added the yellow, red, and green colors. [18] Holender, Samantha (August 7, 2019). "English Toffee Peanut Won M&M's 2019 "Flavor Vote" ". Delish. Crispy M&M’s are mild. But these are still chocolatey enough to get your daily chocolate fix. 14. English Toffee M&M’s Few M&M varieties have made such a splash when they arrived on the scene (in 2010) as Pretzel M&M’s, though at the time I didn’t quite think they could live up to the hype. Perhaps I was still in mourning for the “Crispy” M&M, which was my preferred crunchy version of the candy, and which has subsequently been through several rebirths. Regardless, revisiting the Pretzel M&M now, I’m finding a lot to like. Several M&Ms-themed video games have been created. The first was M&M's The Lost Formulas, released on September 28, 2000.

M&M Minis". Mms.com. Archived from the original on November 24, 2012 . Retrieved February 21, 2012.In 1976, the color orange was added to the mix to replace red, which was discontinued in response to the "red dye scare" over Red Dyes #2 and #4 having been evaluated to be carcinogenic in nature. Although M&M's were made with the less controversial Red Dye #40, the public was wary of any food being dyed red. Red M&M's were re-introduced in 1987. [15] [19] 1980s: Expanding internationally Mikkelson, David (May 11, 2011). "M&Ms and E.T." Snopes. ...when Mars, Inc. passed on the chance for its flagship product, M&Ms, to be the candy used in 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Its turn-down cleared the way for Hershey Foods Corporation to make a remarkable splash for its Reese's Pieces

In early 1995, Mars ran a promotion in which consumers were invited to vote on which of blue, pink, or purple would replace the tan M&M's. Blue was the winner with 54% of the votes. [72] It replaced tan in late 1995. Consumers could vote by calling 1-800-FUN-COLOR. Ads for the new blue colors featured a plain and an almond blue M&M character as Red and Yellow take notice of trying to do takes in the commercial by painting themselves blue where they appear on stage with B.B. King singing the blues, but the filmmakers had to cut the scene as they were not the real blue M&M's; another featured Red and Yellow holding their breath to look like the new blue M&M's, where Steven Weber sees the three M&M's, Red, Yellow, and Blue; and one more featuring Weber talking to the blue M&M if he had dived into the chocolate pool, but did not. Owen, Rob (February 17, 2012). "TV Q&A: 'The Good Wife,' awards shows and 'The Little Couple' ". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012 . Retrieved February 17, 2012. Mars Chocolate North America (May 11, 2017). "M&M'S Launches New Soft Caramel-Filled Chocolate Candies". PR Newswire. Archived from the original on May 14, 2017 . Retrieved May 17, 2017. The Great Big List of M&M Desserts - a sweet recipe roundup of 150+ vibrant, colorful, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious M&M's chocolate candies dessert recipes.

Warnke, Kyle (August 12, 2016). "M&M's and Twix are Made in Tennessee". Knoxville, Tennessee: WVLT-TV. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018 . Retrieved June 29, 2018. Mars has since expanded their peanut M&M line to include different chocolates. 2. Plain Milk Chocolate M&M’s

Hiebert, Paul (January 20, 2022). "M&M's Mascots Change to Represent a 'Progressive World' " . Retrieved January 28, 2022. The dark chocolate peanutM&M’s are even better. But more on those later. 6. Mint Dark Chocolate M&M’s M&Ms However, their taste is not one I can get behind. Mars was obviously going for a Push-Up or orange Creamsicle flavor.The salty pretzel center also gives them that delectable, sweet-n-salty balance. That, more than anything else, is what makes them so perfect. 4. Peanut Butter M&M’s These ones, more than most, come down on some level to a matter of taste. Overall, I am probably more of a dark chocolate than milk chocolate fan–I love chocolate in general, and it’s rarely bold or intense enough for me. With that said, I’m not sure I would turn to these Dark Chocolate M&M’s quite as often as the Milk Chocolate M&M originals. American candy doesn't get much bigger than M&M's! Invented in 1941, today M&M's, the iconic melt in your mouth not in your hand sweets are America's top selling candy. But how well do you know M&M's? Have some fun with our M&M's trivia quiz in our blog - Are M&M's the best American Candy?. Alright, now we’re going to piss some people off. The Peanut M&M is of course an icon, the original expansion flavor, joining Milk Chocolate in 1954. And it makes sense, as peanut and chocolate flavors are a great combination. The problem is that they really don’t come together in a satisfying way in the context of a Peanut M&M. McCluskey, Megan (July 26, 2016). "This New M&M's Flavour Will Fuel Your Coffee Addiction". Time. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016 . Retrieved September 9, 2016.