M&M's

M&M's is the brand name of a color-varied sugar-coated, dragée chocolate confectionery made by the Mars Wrigley Confectionery division of Mars Inc. since 1941. The confection consists of a candy shell surrounding a filling that determines the specific type or variety. Each piece has the letter "m" printed in lower case in white on one side. They are produced in different colors, some of which have changed over the years.

The original confection of this brand had a semi-sweet chocolate filling that upon introduction of other varieties, was branded as the "plain, normal" variety. The first alternate variety to be introduced was the Peanut M&M in 1954. It featured a peanut coated in milk chocolate and finally, coated with a candy shell. It still remains a regular variety. Numerous other varieties have been introduced, some of which are regular widespread varieties (peanut butter, almond, pretzel, crispy, dark chocolate, and caramel) while other varieties are limited in duration or geographic availability.

The confection came into production in the United States in 1941 and has since been sold in more than 100 countries. It was conceived in partnership between Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie (representing the "M" and "M"), the son of the president of the rival Hershey Chocolate Company. Murrie sold his minority share in the venture to Mars in 1949. M&M was likely inspired from Smarties that Mars may have encountered during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). A sugar coating made it possible to carry chocolate in warm climates without it melting and that characteristic eventually prompted his company's longest-lasting marketing slogan that became, "the milk chocolate that melts in your mouth, not in your hand".